Bloodlines
by Rangergirl3
Summary: Well, shit. (aka) Haggar's not stupid, guys. She really, really isn't. Rated T for graphic depiction of violence, and swearing. Haggar's not someone you want to cross. Latest in the 'Lost Paladins' series.
1. Prologue: Best Laid Plans

Okay, so (Season 2 spoiler ahead) when we were told Haggar is Altean, I absolutely sat up until three in the morning and ended up doing some author parkour in the story 'Many Happy Returns' so it didn't completely screw up what I'd tried to do with the 'Lost Paladins' series.

This fic - really, all of it - came about mostly because I realized I could Make. This. Work. Again.

What follows is a whole bunch of angst and feels. Brace yourself. It gets pretty intense.

* * *

Matt tapped his fingers against his knee in a nervous rhythm.

Aurelis bore it with relative good grace for about five minutes before he decided to try and reassure the boy.

"Your sister will be fine," he assured him, and Matt glanced over at him, one eyebrow raised.

" _Really_? The last time the Lions went out, Lance got taken _by_ _Haggar_. I'm not sure I could call that a reassuring track record, Aurelis."

Aurelis wasn't quite sure what to say to that, but he certainly didn't wish to make Matt's worries worse.

"…true…" the healer admitted, as he came to sit on the couch across from Matt. They were both in the lounge. "But - now the Lions have cloaking devices - ones your sister made herself - so they are far less likely to be noticed -"

Matt nodded his head, as if to grant a point.

"…'s true…" he muttered, and Aurelis continued, his voice growing more confident as he went on.

"- and besides, it's just the two of them, out on a simple scouting mission - very quick, very simple, very safe. We're nearby, and ready to help at a moment's notice - so really -"

Matt winced and seemed to think about what he wanted to say next. "…Aurelis…I know you're trying to help me feel better…but I'll be honest with you..."

Aurelis settled himself more comfortably into his seat. "-I'd prefer it if you were-"

Matt nodded again in acknowledgment, and continued. "-I won't feel like Katie's _safe_ until she gets back to the Castle."

Aurelis raised one eyebrow. "Are you saying that because she's out on patrol, or because she's out on patrol with the Red Paladin, specifically?"

Matt blinked, and then shook his head from side to side emphatically. "What? Oh, _hell_ _no_ , it's not because she's with Keith. It's just - she's out there, and I'm not with her, so of _course_ I'm going to worry. It's in my job description."

Aurelis blinked at that, but Matt saw it when the healer's eyes cleared and he nodded back in understanding.

"Ah…yes. You're her brother."

Matt shrugged and looked away. "Yeah…but…I guess that I'll just…have to get used to it."

Aurelis glanced back to the door that led to the main bridge, where Rayzor and Allura were monitoring the star systems around them. The healer's fingers tapped out a nervous rhythm of their own before he spoke again.

"You know…I find that… _projects_ …help me…not to focus on the worry," he said. Matt looked over at him, interested.

"Projects, huh?" he asked, and Aurelis nodded. "Everyone's working on one right now, and I'm currently trying to update and organize the inventory in the medical bay. I could _really_ use some more help. Beyris is - well, enthusiastic - but - "

Matt half-chuckled as he rose to his feet. "-you don't want her to carry around the fragile stuff, huh?"

Aurelis shuddered expressively as he and Matt left to go to the medical bay. " _Stars_ , no, who _knows_ what could happen?"

" _Yeah_ ," Matt said, and Aurelis was glad he could hear that the Green Paladin's brother seemed at least a little more like his usual self. "An energetic five-year-old probably shouldn't be carrying around glass beakers and bottles full of alien medicine unless she has to -"

In the hallway, they passed by Sam, who was carrying a bunch of papers back to his room. He waved at them as they walked by.

"Thought I'd use this time to try and brush up on some Altean," he said, and Matt made a mental note to start doing that too at some point. He really should get at least a few of the different scripts around the Castle figured out. A thought occurred to him, and he glanced at the healer curiously.

"…hey…Aurelis…" he said. "…so…how do _you_ know what medical supplies are in the infirmary?"

Aurelis opened the door, and Matt saw a beaming, mustached face turn towards him.

"Ah! Matt!" Coran dashed over to him and shook his hand enthusiastically. "Pleased to see you wanted to drop by! Come in, come in, we're working on cataloging the medicines today -"

Matt had to smile at how pleased Coran was to see him, and then Beyris' head popped up from where she sat in a nearby chair, and she waved at him cheerfully.

Matt waved back.

He'd forgotten how nice it was, to have people know your name, to have them smile at you when you entered a room.

It was _really_ , really nice.

* * *

Allura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She and Rayzor were on the main bridge of the Castle while the others were on working on various projects, and the readings she was getting on the Castle's scanners were not what she was expecting.

"Nothing here," she said, and she glanced over towards Rayzor. "Any luck?"

He shook his head, scowling at the readouts on his chart. "None. It's strange, though. These star systems should have at least _some_ Galra activity…"

Allura bit her lip, considering.

"Do you think there's some kind of plan being put into place? Something that would require them to cut back on their presence here?"

Rayzor shrugged. "I'm not sure. I can't think of one."

Allura sighed and pushed a strand of white hair behind her ear as she spoke. "Well, I suppose that I can handle it from here. Rayzor, do you think you could check on the teleportation device?"

Rayzor nodded. "I can. Or at least, I can run a systems check. Without Keith here to power it up, I won't be able to do much else."

Allura nodded again. The teleportation device that had allowed them to beam up the prisoners from the unstable mining planet had been constructed so that Keith could use his teleportation powers more efficiently, essentially channeling his abilities through the machine so that he could teleport multiple people out of danger at a time.

It was a draining process, and they only planned to use it when absolutely neccessary, but when they had seen that the mining planet's seismic activity had reached dangerous levels, there had been no other choice. Allura had helped take some of the strain off of Keith by sharing some of the burden from her station on the main bridge of the castle.

"-so - how exactly - did we - do that - again?" Keith had asked her later, once everything had calmed down, and she had explained that she'd tapped into her Altean ability to open wormholes to help him.

"…uh…" Keith had said, still looking confused. "Could you maybe say it a little simpler?"

It had been right after Pidge had drawn out that diagram about how Keith was human, _and_ Galra, _and_ Altean. Allura had laughed, but in a kind manner, and pulled the chart closer towards her, and Shiro, coming to sit by her, had handed her one of the pencils that Katie had left on the floor.

"Yes, I think I - oh, thank you, Takashi - well, let's see...Keith, here's what each of us did."

She used the pencil to write the word 'teleport' in the Galra section of the circle Katie had drawn.

"That's what you did, because of your ability to draw upon Galra magic."

Keith nodded. "Okay. I understand that part."

Shiro leaned over to watch too as Allura wrote down 'portal' in the Altean section of the circle.

"And that's what I did, because of my Altean magic. It's similar to opening a wormhole, but it's not _exactly_ the same - and it's also definitely _not_ the same as teleportation."

Keith had sat back and looked at her, confused. "Why?"

Allura tapped the pencil against one of her temples as she tried to think of how to explain it.

"Well, teleportation is…hmm…well, it's a shortcut between two spaces. When you teleport, many steps become one, and you appear where you want to in less than an instant. It's efficient, but it's inherently limited in its abilities."

Keith nodded. "Yeah, okay, I get that."

Allura looked over at Shiro, and he nodded too, telling her that he understood her analogy even as he asked the question that was on his mind as well as Keith's.

"So…what's a _portal_ like?"

She tried to think of a good way to explain it, and she did her best. "A portal is more like…a…fold in space. Instead of many steps becoming one, it's more like the distance becomes - more - more fluid - and that's how the Castle is able to move across entire galaxies by going through just one wormhole."

Keith pointed at the castle around them. "Is that why it looks like we actually disappear _into_ the wormholes? The whole 'distance becomes fluid' thing?"

Allura nodded excitedly, pointing the pencil at him. "Yes! Yes, Keith, _exactly_!"

Shiro looked down at the paper again. "Is it possible that - I don't know - maybe someday Keith could use either one of them?"

Allura shrugged expressively. "I don't know. To be honest, I've never even _heard_ of someone having the capability to perform two separate kinds of magic before."

Keith's eyes had been wide with interest as he looked at the paper.

"Cool," he said, and he glanced back towards the Holts. "Well, however we did it, I'm glad it worked."

Allura nodded, and when she had leaned back, she leaned against Shiro's side. The three of them had watched the Holts talking, and Allura saw again how very, very glad Keith was that Pidge had found her family.

* * *

"Frickin' electrical interference," Keith muttered to himself. He slammed a fist against his helmet in an effort to clear the signal.

"Pidge! Hey, Pidge! Do you copy?"

They had landed their Lions on a moon that had been labeled as an old Altean supply outpost, way back in the days of King Alfor. Coran had said something about having extra wormhole lenses on hand being a good idea, or something. Keith hadn't quite understood what Coran had been talking about, but he and Katie were out scouting this moon to see if there was anything of value left.

Pidge had been able to land her Lion first and had headed into the tunnels ahead of him, and Keith was following behind her. With the comms shorting in and out like this, he was starting to get worried, but then his friend's voice sounded over the comms again, and he let out a breath of relief.

"Keith! _Keith_! Do you copy?"

The Red Paladin kept his bayard out and ready, but he felt his shoulders relax at the sound of her voice.

"Pidge, I'm here. What's going on?"

"Sorry for the - delay - my armor - it got caught on some sort of - magnetic rock - in the tunnels - can you come and - uh - you know - help me out?"

"No problem. Be there in a tic."


	2. can still go to Hell

The Red Paladin turned and headed further down into the tunnels, straight for the Green Paladin's coordinates. He heard some sounds of scraping and swearing, and then Pidge's resigned sigh.

"Don't say anything," Pidge growled, and Keith had to hold back a grin as he answered.

"What, about you getting stuck to a tunnel wall like a magnet on a fridge? Pidge, come on, you know that's not like me - I'm anti-social, not an _asshole_ -"

Pidge's voice was curt, dismissive. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look - I'm - "

Keith thought he heard a fizz, a buzzing over the comms, and he got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. The electrical interference suddenly seemed…too conveniently timed.

Something…didn't feel quite right about this.

Keith stopped walking, but was careful to sound exactly like his usual self when he spoke again, but he was looking all around, ready to take immediate action.

"Hey…Pidge?"

The voice that came over his comms still sounded exactly like Katie. Whatever interference had cropped up was completely gone now. But…it didn't feel like her. It felt…wrong. Off, somehow.

" _What,_ Keith?"

Keith wasn't sure if he was being paranoid or not, but he decided to err on the side of caution. He slipped into the shadows of the tunnel and activated his armor's camoflauge abilities even as he spoke.

"Uh…you think we should give the nickname…Pyro…to Lance? I mean, it suits him… _better…_ doesn't it?"

Pidge's voice was still short, abrupt. "Yeah, sure, whatev-"

Then there was an outburst of static, followed immediately by a harsh, desperate scream that tore into Keith's ears like a sonic weapon. It was a scream of utter terror, frantic desperation, and absolute rage all mixed into one sound.

"KEITH, RUN! IT'S A TR-"

Even before she'd finished saying his name, Keith had started to sprint, but not towards the exit to the tunnels. He was sprinting right towards Pidge's last location, because there was no way in Hell he was letting this happen again, not if he could stop it.

Someone had Katie, and whoever it was, they had been able to mimic her voice.

As far as Keith knew, only one person could do that.

Keith thought back to a day when he and the other Paladins had been taken captive, to when someone had tried to lure Allura and Coran into a trap just like this one.

Haggar.

 _Oh, God._

 _Haggar was here._

 _And she had Katie._

* * *

As Keith moved, staying in the shadows, he forced himself to come up with a plan, to figure out what to do.

If Haggar had Pidge, and was using that spell to mimic her voice, then the witch needed the Green Paladin alive. Keith shivered at what _that_ could mean, but he forced himself to focus on the facts. He had seen Pidge less than fifteen minutes ago, right as they'd started to descend into the planet's atmosphere, and Green had been with her.

Red hadn't called out to Keith in warning, or given any indication that there was danger he was aware of. So, it was safe to assume that Haggar, had, somehow, managed to surprise Pidge down here, in these tunnels. The Lions were still up on the planet's surface…so Green might not be in Haggar's grasp yet. Keith had to make sure Green wasn't caught, and he had to find Katie, but first of all, he had to make sure Red wasn't going to get caught either.

He couldn't take the chance of walking into a trap that could give the witch both the Red Paladin and the Red Lion. Keith concentrated on his mental link with Red, and he heard his Lion respond in both fear and concern.

 **My Pilot!**

 _Red, listen, I need you to cloak yourself and fly to Green's coordinates. I think - I think the witch is nearby - and -_

 **My Pilot, I will come to you at once!**

 _No, Red,_ _ **listen**_ _! Katie might be in trouble - look, I have to find out where she is before you come get me, all right? I might have to get her out of here with teleportation._

 **My Pilot, this is nonsense - I can just burn my way through to you and -**

Keith wanted to slam one hand against his forehead in silent frustration, but instead, he concentrated on convincing his Lion to _listen_.

 _Red, please! These tunnels wouldn't hold up under your firepower - you could kill both of us if you did that - so just -_ _ **please**_ _\- go find Green, and I'll find Katie, and we'll tell each other what we find, okay?_

Red sounded annoyed, but at least he was listening now.

 **Very well, my pilot. I do not wish to bring any harm to you,** _ **or**_ **the short one.**

Despite knowing the witch was somewhere in the tunnels ahead, Keith smirked as he kept running down the tunnels, still as silent as a shadow.

 _Short one, huh? Careful. Green might hear you and take it out of your hide._

Red growled, but Keith could tell it was a sound of confidence.

 **Hmm. He'd be welcome to try.**

Keith thought about activating his emergency comms as he ran, to try and reach the rest of the team, but remembering how perfectly Haggar had imitated Katie's voice, he decided against it. Better to find out what was happening, and _then_ take action. The last thing his team needed was not to know who was _actually_ calling them on the comms. Nothing would get done that way, and more of them might be baited into a trap.

 _Who would have thought_ _ **I'd**_ _be using strategy,_ he thought as he came to a cross-section of tunnels. _Katie would -_

He stopped just in time to keep from coming out into the light of the cavern ahead of him.

It wasn't artificial light. It came from hundreds of thousands of tiny crystals embedded in the ceiling, in the floor, in the walls. It would have been beautiful if he'd seen it in any other setting, but Keith felt anger start to build in him as he saw who stood before him, right in the center of the cavern's floor.

Haggar had Katie, all right, and there were three other Druids down here as well.

 _Damn. This is bad._

Keith ground his teeth at how _tiny_ Pidge looked, held up by the scruff of her neck like that, but with an effort, he pushed the anger back down long enough to ask Red if he'd found Green.

 **My pilot, I have. Green says that he saw and heard nothing of danger until only moments ago, when his Paladin called for him to cloak himself and then went silent. Is she…**

 _She's alive, Red - and I'm going to get her out of there._

Keith wished again that he could open up a comms channel to the Castle, but he forced himself to focus on what he needed to do, now.

Get Pidge, and get out.

 _Red, I'm going to grab Katie and teleport us both to the surface. Are you close to Green now?_

 **Yes. We are both cloaked and ready to fly at a moment's notice -**

 _Good. Stay there. I'm getting Katie now. And - Red -_

 **Yes, my pilot?**

Keith knew his Lion - and Green - wouldn't want to hear this next part of the plan, but he felt it was absolutely critical not to let the witch get two Lions.

 _If you don't hear from either of us in five minutes, consider it a Code Omega._

 **But -**

 _Red, it'll be fine. I'm going to get Katie out - I just - need you to promise to do that, okay? Just in case._

 **My pilot - I -**

Keith wished he could say something more encouraging, but he was out of time. He had to go and grab Katie, _now_ , before the witch took her away.

 _Red. Promise me._

Reluctantly, Red promised.

 **All right.**

With that, Keith steeled himself and stole into the chamber, keeping to the edges of the room. Even with his armor's cloaking abilities, there was no sense in taking stupid risks if he could avoid them. Haggar was saying something to the other Druids, something about tests and experiments and the arena -

 _No_ _ **way**_ _was that happening to Pidge - not on his watch - careful, Keith - come on - wait for an opening - and -_ _ **go**_ _!_

Still camouflaged, still unseen, Keith ran at a sprint, directly towards his friend.

Keith wished he could just teleport to Katie _now_ , without chancing this mad dash across the floor, but he knew he'd need all the energy he had to get them both out of these tunnels. And anyway, if he used his Galra magic too early, the witch might sense it and stop him from getting to Katie at all.

His plan was simplicity itself.

Run in, grab hold of Pidge, pull her away from the Druids' grip - it wouldn't be hard to do, she wasn't even half his own weight - and teleport out, back to the planet's surface, where Red and Green both waited for them.

Keith would get them both into Red, and with Pidge safe, Green would follow Red, and they'd be back at the Castle and out of this star system in the blink of an eye.

It was a brilliantly simple plan. Uncomplicated, straightforwards, and easy to execute.

Or it would have been, if the witch hadn't known _exactly_ what Keith would try to do, and had taken appropriate steps to prevent it.

* * *

Keith made it halfway to Katie before he realized two things.

One, the instant he'd stepped out of the shadows and onto the floor, the rock under his feet had started to glow, with a brighter, harsher light than it had just a second before.

Two, it was glowing…purple. Druid purple.

 _Shit._

Katie had said it was a trap…but Keith had just assumed she'd meant it was one he could avoid, given her warning.

He had just enough time to realize that whatever this was, it was for him, _specifically_ , before everything went straight to Hell.

As the light from the floor began emitting that awful purple glow, Haggar turned towards him and smiled. As she did, she raised her hand and spoke a chant, and black vines broke through the floor and began thrashing about, seeking for him.

Keith knew he was as good as caught, but he'd never gone down without a fight, no matter what the odds were. He jumped and dodged the vines, but they blocked his way back to the tunnel now. There was nowhere left to run, even if he'd been going to retreat and leave his teammate in Haggar's grip - which he hadn't been.

 _RED!_ He screamed over their mental link, and he heard the fear in his Lion's voice when Red responded.

 **MY PILOT - WHAT IS -**

 _GET OUT OF HERE! SHE WAS READY FOR ME!_

 _ **WHAT**_ **-**

Then a vine found Keith's left foot, and it wrapped around his leg with lightning speed, pulling him down onto his back with a painful thud, and Keith let out a cry of desperation and fear as his armor's cloaking capabilities failed, and he saw Haggar turn her eyes to him.

" _CODE OMEGA!"_ he shouted, and he heard Red's roar of fury just as another vine caught hold of his right arm. Keith thrashed and bucked, but he was pulled off the ground, and as much as he tried to get free, he couldn't manage it. Then Haggar was there, right in front of him, and she held a knife in her hand.

Paladin armor or not, Keith fully expected to die in that moment, but Haggar did something else. She seized hold of his right wrist and brought the knife down, and with a few, short, awful movements, cut some sort of sigil into his palm, and then she twisted his right arm again, and cut the same sigil a second time, into the back of his right hand, cut deep enough where Keith could see bone. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to use that hand again. Ever.

Then Haggar smiled at him, and then she took the hilt of her knife and slammed it into his injured palm, speaking something in - it sounded like a spell - and Keith screamed in pain, as black lightning sparked and flashed from the hilt into the sigils, and it burned like fire, like salt and blood and razors, and then the witch was saying something to the other Druids.

Keith wasn't sure what it was, because he was trying not to scream again. He didn't know what the witch had done to him - but maybe - Red would -

But when Keith tried to call out to Red, it felt like - something was - something was - wrong - like something was - missing -

Then he saw Haggar smile at him again, and he realized what she had done.

 _He couldn't hear Red anymore._

 _He couldn't reach out to his Lion anymore._

 _Haggar had just - cut him off - from Red._

 _Maybe…maybe forever._

 _No…that…that shouldn't be possible…._

The witch seemed to guess what he was thinking, because she threw her head back and and laughed.

"Oh, I assure you, Paladin, I am _very_ talented at accomplishing the unlikely," Haggar said.

Behind the witch, Keith saw Pidge wake up and start to look around her. When she saw him, her eyes widened, and she started to try and kick free from the Druid who held her in place.

"Put me down, you fucking assholes!" she snarled, and despite the burning, pulsing agony of his right hand, Keith almost wanted to smile at how very Katie-ish she still was, despite their dire circumstances.

"KEITH!" she bellowed over at him, and she seemed really, really concerned, " _Hey_! You _idiot_ , I _told_ you it was a _trap_!"

Keith glared back at her and opened his mouth to reply, but then the vines still holding him in the air abruptly loosened, and he fell onto the glowing stone floor.

He hit the ground hard, and all the breath left his body. It was a pity, because when he hit the ground, the purple light felt like frozen fire wherever it touched him, and Keith wished he could have screamed. It might have at least help distract him from the way his body began to convulse in pain. Apparently, whatever this light was could blacken and scorch through Paladin armor.

 _...great...my day...just keeps...getting better and better..._

From where he lay, Keith saw that Pidge's eyes had gone wide with both fear and anger at the sight of what this light was doing to him. As usual, she expressed her fear with fluent cuss words and at significant volume.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY FRIEND, WITCH?!" she snarled at Haggar. This whole time, she hadn't given up trying to wiggle her way out of the Druid's hold, even though if she had succeeded, she would have also landed on the glowing purple light. "TELL ME _RIGHT_ _FUCKING_ NOW!"

Haggar looked at Pidge, cocking her head to one side, quizzically. "Is she _always_ this loud?" she asked Keith, who just glowered up at her, unable to say anything. He wanted to, he just - couldn't really - piece the words together - in time -

 _...shit..._

"KEITH!" Pidge bellowed. "KEITH, YOU BETTER NOT DIE ON ME!"

Just then, Keith heard the roars of a Lion approaching the cavern, and he felt a momentary surge of hope.

 _Maybe - m-maybe the others - can get to us - in - time -_

But even as the thought crossed his mind, he saw Haggar turn and gesture to the other Druids. The one holding Katie vanished, and even as Keith tried again to get up, two of them came and grabbed hold of his arms, and then he felt the familiar sensation of teleporting away.

Even as she vanished from the cavern, Keith saw Haggar send a bolt of lightning into the ceiling, beginning a cave-in. All traces of the glowing circle were obliterated under tons of rock and rubble, completely erasing any sign or trace of Druid magic.

 _Fuck_.

This couldn't be good.

When Shiro saw the Omega Protocol had been initiated by Keith, he immediately turned his Lion back towards where Keith and Pidge had gone to scout out that old abondoned outpost.

Shiro swore furiously to himself as he and Black flew directly towards where the two signals were coming from.

"I should have gone with them," he said, but Black told him that even the best laid plans could not account for everything.

 _This is why we instigated the Omega Protocol,_ she said, _so that, if a Lion and a Paladin were unable to reunite, the others would know immediately and come to aid them both - see - we are almost there -_

But when Shiro and Black got to where the beacons were, they didn't see anything. Black called out to her long-time comrades, and Shiro could hear the worry in her voice.

 _Red? Green?_

Two answering roars caused Black's fear to lessen, but only for a moment. When Shiro asked her what was going on, she sounded…fierce.

 _The Lions are all right - they are even now beginning to come to us. Their Paladins were able to initiate the Omega Protocol before…before…_

"Before _what_?!" Shiro demanded, and Black growled, a sound of anger in no way directed at him.

 _My pilot, the witch was waiting for them. I know not how, but she was able to capture both of -_

Shiro's vision tunneled, and he felt physically sick. Black was still speaking to him, but he couldn't quite hear the words to what she was saying. He wasn't completely sure, but he might have been about to pass out.

The voice that came over his comms jolted him awake, because it was familiar, and cruel, and self-satisfied.

"Champion, by now you have realized that I have two of your Paladins. If you wish to know what I plan to do with them, have the Princess, her advisor, and the three remaining Paladins of Voltron standing on your Castle's bridge _before_ I contact you again."

" _Haggar_!" Shiro said, and where before he had felt only fear, rage took its place. " _Haggar_ , I _swear_ to _God_ , _if you hurt them_ \- "

The witch's voice was bored, almost amused. "Yes, yes, you'll find me, and kill me, yes, yes, Champion, I'm well aware. However, be advised - _any_ attempt to locate my ship is pointless. I have taken…precautions…so the Lions cannot track their Paladins, and if I even _start_ to sense the Princess or any Altean magic or attack come near my ship, I will simply kill your two friends and leave their bodies for you to find."

Shiro wanted to throw up, but instead, he tried to control his breathing. "Let me talk to them."

Haggar's voice took on a distinctly pleased tone.

"Mmmm, I'm afraid the Red Paladin will not be able to speak for a little while longer. However, the short one _is_ still conscious-"

A visual opened up on Shiro's comms screen, and he saw that Haggar stood on the bridge of her Druid's ship, and the witch held Katie by the scruff of the neck. The witch had hold of the Green Paladin's helmet in her other hand, and the witch nodded in mock approval as she saw him realize what that meant.

"Well _done_ , Champion, aren't you a _clever_ one - yes, I _am_ using the comms in your comrade's helmets to reach you this way-"

Katie was glowering at Haggar, kicking and wiggling furiously, but Shiro didn't think she was hurt too badly.

 _Yet_ , his mind said, and supplied him with all sorts of horrible images which he had to force aside.

"Pidge!" he said, and when Pidge looked up, she must have seen the look in his eyes, because she started snarling.

 _If the witch was using the comms units in the helmets, then Haggar must have been projecting his image and his voice up onto her ship's main comms screen - so that Pidge could see him -_

"Shiro! Shiro, don't do anything she sa-"

Then Haggar had tightened her grip on Pidge's neck, and Pidge's eyes widened in sheer annoyance, and she managed to spit out a few more words before Haggar shook her again, rattling her teeth together and preventing her from further speech.

"Shiro - _don't_! She just wants to _taunt_ you with this stupid Skype call from He-"

Then Haggar was speaking again, repeating her conditions, and she ended the connection.

Black roared in fury.

 _My Pilot! Let us hunt her down and finish her!_

Shiro took off his helmet before he answered her. It took him three tries, because his hands were shaking so badly.

All the same, he made himself breathe as steadily as he could, and he made sure the comms unit in his helmet was turned off before he answered his Lion.

He didn't want the witch to hear what he said next.

"N-no - not - not without - more of a plan. We've - we've got to get back to the Castle. Now."

Sensing what he was thinking, Black growled in approval.

 _My Pilot, we must be swift if we are to put this plan in action. The comms over the helmets are no longer secure - and we_ _ **must**_ _think of something - before - before -_

When Shiro spoke again, his voice was steel. "Before we're out of time."


	3. Taking One For the Team

The next thing Keith knew, he was on what looked like the main bridge of Haggar's ship, with a Druid standing by his shoulder. His helmet was gone, and he was on his knees, and it felt like his arms were secured behind his back with some sort of - handcuffs?

Whatever they were, they were on tight, and they hurt, and he was pretty sure that meant he couldn't use his fire powers. Lance had told him about these earlier, how when he'd tried to escape, the cuffs had -

 _Escape._

 _Trap._

 ** _Katie._**

At that realization, that she was still in the Druids' power, Keith felt full awareness return to him, and his head shot up. He saw that she was on the other side of the room, secured just like he was. Her helmet was gone, too, and her hair was falling all over her face. His throat hurt, but Keith didn't care. He shouted over to his friend, and when she looked back at him, she seemed relieved beyond words that he was awake.

" _Katie_!"

"You're _awake_ \- I thought that - maybe -"

Keith tried to rise to his feet, to maybe get closer to her, but the Druid standing by him stuck him in the left side with with a single pulse of black lightning, and Keith's vision wavered from the intensity of the pain. He had forgotten his armor wasn't up to its usual standards until just then.

 _Damn - that -_ ** _hurt_ **_-_

"Keith! No!" Pidge tried to get to her feet too, but the Druid standing by her just kept his clawed hand on her shoulder, and she had to settle for snarling over at the one who had hurt her friend.

"Listen up, _jackass_! We're not trying anything, okay?! You _know_ we can't get out of here, so why did you have to hurt him like that? What, are you just trying to hit your jackass _quota_ for the day or something-"

At Katie's words, Keith felt fear dull the pain in his side long enough to look at her again, and she must have seen the question he wanted to ask, because she opened her mouth to answer.

However, the voice that spoke next was definitely not Katie's voice.

It had taken that form, once.

But as she appeared by Keith's other side, Haggar sounded very much like her usual self. Cold, self-satisfied, and utterly confident in her complete control of the situation.

"Yes, Red Paladin," she said, and Keith saw that she did indeed seem very, _very_ pleased with herself. "It is true. You cannot escape from here."

"...oh…yeah…?" Keith panted. The witch should have known better. Telling Keith that he couldn't do something was the same thing as daring him too.

Across the circle, Pidge was shaking her head at him vehemently, mouthing 'Pyro don't be an _idiot_ ', but he ignored her. His side hurt, and his right hand burned like it had when the Druid's lightning had struck him, all that time ago, but Keith still glared daggers up at Haggar, feeling his teeth bare into a snarl.

She couldn't keep him here, and she _wasn't_ going to hurt Katie.

He was going to get Katie out of here if it killed him.

"W-watch - m-me - _bitch_ -"

And with that, Keith focused his mind on reaching Katie, on grabbing her and getting them both to the Castle. He'd never tried that sort of jump over that distance before, but damn it all, he was _not_ going to just sit here while Haggar threatened his friend.

But when Keith tried to teleport, he felt -

 _He felt frozen into place, almost - almost as if his insides were freezing over - and when he let out a harsh breath, his breath frosted like it had back in the Cave - the Cave of -_

 _Ice._

 _It felt like his blood was turning into ice._

Pidge was screaming at Haggar, and the witch was smiling - but - why would -

"STOP IT!"

 _\- he couldn't - move - he couldn't - do - anything - why - why couldn't - he -_

"HAGGAR, _STOP IT_!"

"You're _sure_ he won't try again?" Haggar asked, and even through the cold, Keith could sense the mockery in her voice. "The next time, I'll just let my spell finish its work - "

 _\- he - he didn't - understand - his - his - heart - was -_

Katie was screaming, and now her voice absolutely unrecognizable.

"LIFT THE SPELL - _PLEASE_ \- YOU'RE _KILLING_ HIM - **_PLEASE_** -"

Then Haggar spoke a few words and waved her hand, and Keith found he could feel his heart start to beat again, and when his vision finally returned, he saw that Katie was still looking over at him, and trying hard not to cry.

"You humans _fascinate_ me," Haggar said, looking over at Katie. "You'd beg for his life, but not your own?"

Katie just glared back at Haggar, baring her teeth in turn. "It's a team thing," she said. "You _really_ wouldn't get it."

Haggar shrugged, turning to one side and speaking to - someone? Something?

It took Keith a few seconds to realize that it was a comms screen, a lot like the one back on the Castle's main bridge.

He was still trying to catch his breath, but when he looked over at Katie, she nodded, tersely, trying to let him know what the situation was.

"Haggar's opened up a link to the Castle through our helmets. She can't use it to track the others - thank the stars - but - I guess she wants to flaunt the fact that we got ourselves caught-"

Keith was able to nod in understanding, even though he thought that for such a normally loud person, Pidge sounded…sort of…faint…but maybe his ears weren't back to normal yet…

 _…wouldn't be the first time…stupid…cold…stupid…sonic…weapons…_

He shook his head again in an effort to regain his hearing faster, and it was then that he realized exactly _who_ was on Haggar's comms screen.

Their team. Coran, Allura, Shiro, Hunk, and Lance, all looking as if they wanted nothing more than to reach out and strangle Haggar.

But Katie was saying something else to him now, and she seemed almost frantic.

 _...must...be important... **listen**...Keith...come on..._

"Keith - _please_ \- don't try to teleport out again - if - if you do, you'll _die_ \- she put a spell on you - that light - back in the cave - "

"What you just experienced," Haggar interrupted, turning back towards him, and for some reason, Keith could make out _her_ words perfectly.

 _\- go figure - I can't hear anyone else that well - but I can - hear Haggar - just fine - I fucking -_ ** _hate_ **_my life - sometimes -_

"-is the effects of this circle," Haggar continued, waving her hand at the floor beneath their feet. Keith managed to glance down and saw that the floor was indeed glowing the same purple color that the cave floor had. He was near one side of the circle, with Haggar standing in the middle, and Katie near the other side.

From where they looked down up on the main comms screen, their team could see everything that was going on perfectly.

 _Stupid Haggar, with her stupid dramatics._

 _She definitely was making her point, though._

 _No one defied her without cost._

"-effectively," Haggar went on, "it's very power stems from containing yours, Red Paladin. You cannot use your abilities inside this circle, and it prevents you from leaving. It is a flawless containment field. Your magic is useless, here, half-blood."

When she smiled, it was once more a cold expression.

"I suggest you say goodbye to your comrade while you have the chance. It's highly unlikely you shall see her again."

* * *

At that, Keith tried _again_ to get free, to do _something_ \- but when he tried to use his fire powers, the cuffs electrified him, and as his vision wavered again from the pain, he saw the terror in Katie's eyes as the witch crossed the circle, reached down, and ran one claw down Katie's face.

Pidge went white, but she didn't start to scream or cry. She just jutted her chin out and glared defiantly at the witch, and seeing her try to - no - seeing her _be_ so brave tore at Keith's heart in a way the witch's claws never could have managed.

There was the sound of raised voices from the screen, but Keith didn't waste time in trying to understand what the others were saying. Several pieces of information all fell into place at once in his mind, in less time than it took to form the words.

 _Haggar had anticipated his abilities and prepared accordingly. She had constructed this Druid's circle to hold him, trapping him like a fly in a web._

 _There was no way for him to get out of this._

 _His Galra blood, and the magic that came with it, was this spell's focus, the source of its' power. It was the reason he hadn't been able to teleport them out of danger in the first place._

 _But Katie didn't have any magic or Druid blood at all._

 _She wasn't bound into this circle by this spell - not the same way Keith was - so maybe - just maybe - he could still get her out of here._

 _He couldn't get her out by teleportation. He'd tried that and failed already._

 _But he had_ ** _just_ **_enough Altean blood to try another way._

 _The spell Allura had told him about, the one that was a lot like opening a wormhole for the Castle to jump through space and appear somewhere else entirely, in the blink of an eye._

 _Portal magic._

 _If he used_ ** _that_ **_magic on Katie, there was a chance that it could get her out of here, back to the Castle, to safety._

 _Haggar may be part-Altean, but her magic had long since been corrupted and twisted._

 _If he acted fast enough - if he took her by surprise - the witch wouldn't be able to block true Altean magic - not if he was fast enough -_

 _It was a faint hope, an absolutely desperate one, and he_ ** _never_ **_would have tried it unless there were no other choice._

 _But they were out of time._

 _If the witch took Katie away, if they were separated, he wouldn't be able to even give her this faint echo of a chance._

 _He had to act,_ ** _now._**

Even though Katie was on her knees in front of one of the most terrifying people she'd ever come into contact with, she was still talking back to the witch - saying something acerbic and defiant and very Katie-ish - and it distracted the witch _just_ long enough for Keith to take action.

 _He just had to reach Katie, to touch her skin for even a fraction of a second. That was all the time he needed, all the time it would take to get her out of here._

In the frozen moment of time right before he put his desperate plan into action, Keith was glad the witch had taken both of their helmets back when they'd first been captured.

It would make what he had to do a lot easier.

* * *

With a snarl of animal fury, Keith found strength he didn't know he still had, and he slammed one shoulder against the Druid holding him in place, bringing every last bit of force he could muster behind the blow. The Druid faltered and took a step backwards away from him. It wasn't much of an opening, but it was all Keith needed.

Keith immediately lunged to his feet, charged forwards, and slammed his other shoulder against Haggar, gaining another precious few seconds as the witch stumbled away from Katie. Even as he moved, the cuffs on his wrists sent black lightning up his arms again, and it burned and froze his skin all at once. It hurt badly enough that he lost his balance and crashed down onto his knees in front of Katie.

He really couldn't manage to move much now - he could still feel the effects of the lightning, the way the energy had burned into his wrists and arms, but Keith had never known when to quit, and now was no exception. Katie's wide, terrified eyes were only inches away from his own, and when she realized what he meant to do, her eyes widened in an expression so much more complex than just one emotion or thought.

All around them, time seemed to slow, and a lot of details in Keith's mind came into place.

 _This was probably the last time he would ever see Katie._

 _He really hoped that_ _maybe_ **,** _one day, she could forgive him for this, for getting her out of here while he stayed behind._

 _It wasn't like he wanted to be separated from her._

 _Hell, he wished he could stay by her side forever._

 _KatiePidge, the Green Paladin._

 _One of the best friends anyone could ask for._

 _God_ , his side hurt, and he was feeling _so_ dizzy, and now Katie was saying something, something with a lot of curse words, and she even might have been crying, but he _had_ to get her out of here. He already felt Haggar turning back towards them, reaching out a clawed hand, snarling.

 _They were out of time_.

He imagined Katie safe, back in the Castle, where she belonged, where her family was, and even as he felt the witch's claws begin to connect with one side of his face, he leaned down and kissed the top of Pidge's forehead.

It wasn't a romantic gesture, but it came from the heart all the same.

 _Goodbye, Katie._

Keith could never describe exactly what happened next. It felt as if something white - like a formless Patronus made out of snow and ice and arctic cold - whirled around the Green Paladin, and it took his friend away, away from the darkness and the fear and the pain, and Keith really, _really_ hoped that she had understood what else he would have said, if he'd had the time to say it.

 _I love you._


	4. Red Means Blood

Then time came racing back into full, painful focus, and Keith _felt_ Haggar's claws come into contact with his skin. The blow was meant to catch, to tear, to rip, and it _did_. It opened up deep, _deep_ cuts on that side of his face, one of the claws barely missing his eye, and he was hurled sideways and down onto the ground with the force of the strike.

Despite himself, Keith cried out in pain, and then the witch was grabbing hold of his face with one hand, yanking him back up onto his knees so that they were eye-to-eye. Keith saw the blood from the gashes on his face stream onto her fingers as she snarled at him in fury, almost wordless with incandescent rage.

" _What_ did you _do?!"_

 _S-shouldn't hold my face like that if you w-want an answer,_ Keith thought, but it was all he could do to not to pass out now, because he felt _so_ dizzy, and the cuts on his face hurt with a burning type of pain, a constant, simmering heat, as if the cuts had actually been caused by smoldering coals instead of claws.

The voices from his team were loud, still frantic, and garbled with static, but Keith thought he heard Pidge's voice coming over the channel now, and he let out an involuntary breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, felt his shoulders slump forward in relief at knowing she was safe. She was _furious_ at the witch for hurting him, and she was absolutely _terrified_ for his sake, but it sounded like she was all right.

 _Stars, he was so glad that had worked - he hadn't wanted to mess up that spell- that might have_ _ **killed**_ _her -_

Then the witch had stuck the _other_ side of his face with her claws, and Keith ground out a scream of pain and tried to wrest his face away from her, out of reflex if nothing else.

 _ **Damn**_ _, these cuts_ _ **hurt**_ _\- did she dip her claws in poison every day of the week or something -_

" _WHAT_ DID YOU _DO_?! _HOW_ DID YOU DO IT?"

 _Not - telling - you - witch, he_ thought, and the defiance must have shown on his face, because she shook him from side to side like a rag doll in her fury.

 _Oh, yeah, sure, like_ _ **that's**_ _going to help you get an answer - what am I - your punching bag -_

His wrists hurt, and his face, and his side, but even as Keith felt his sight begin to dim, Haggar threw him back onto the ground, _hard_ , and he landed on his back, right on top of his cuffed wrists, and everything came rushing back into clear and painful focus. Even though he tried to keep from making any noise, it _hurt_ , and he had to swallow back a scream.

 _ **Sure**_ _, Haggar, throw me so I land on almost_ _ **every**_ _ **single**_ _ **injury**_ _I've taken today_ \- _I swear - you must_ _ **practice**_ _being this sadistic - you must have - medals in it - or something -_

As Keith made a monumental effort and rolled onto his left side, trying to take some of the pressure off his bound wrists, he heard familiar voices crying out and shouting his name, and he thought that maybe, just for a second, he'd been able to make out Red's voice among them.

Shaking his head, trying to regain his breath, Keith spared a glance around him, and he saw that the other Druids were standing at the four corners of the room, all facing him, palms raised.

Even as he tensed in anticipation of the blow, he wished his friends didn't have to see this…but then…it wasn't like he could really take any action to keep this from happening. The sigil on his right wrist pulsed, cold and clear, keeping Red from locating his exact position, and if Red couldn't find him, there was no way Allura could. Not in time to keep him from getting blasted with this corrupted quintessence.

Now Haggar was saying something about the price of defying - the Galra Empire - oh no - here it came -

Then black lightning was all around him, sparking and crackling from every one of the Druid's hands, coming closer and closer towards him, and all the time, Haggar watched from one side of the room with a satisfied half-smile on her face.

Keith couldn't hear _anything_ but the lightning now, but he could still see the screen, and he almost wished he couldn't. His team was _terrified_ for him, and he wished he could have said something brave or heroic to them, but then the lightning bolts hit him all at once, right in the chest, directly above his heart.

After that, all he could do was scream. As he screamed, he felt his body twist and contort and writhe in pain, but it was without any real conscious thought. He was just trying _to get away_ from the pain, and knowing all the time that it was hopeless.

This circle had been built to hold _him_ , and there was no way he was getting out. Not on his own.

Then the lighting died away, and he could hear someone gasping for air, horrible, wheezing coughs interspersed with painful rasps and whimpers of pain - oh, right - that was him - _god dammit_ \- every _single_ _fucking_ time - he _fucking_ _hated_ this -

Once he was finally able to open his eyes, Keith glanced up to see that Haggr had come to stand near him, looking down into his face and gloating in that way she always did.

" _Well_ , Paladin?"

Keith didn't want to see her smiling down at him like that.

It reminded him too much of Jenick.

* * *

 _Hah_ , he thought, even as he tried to catch his breath again and regain some small measure of self-composure, _For…being…so different…you really are…a_ _ **lot**_ _alike…_

" _ **Well**_?"

Keith wished he could completely turn his back on her, but since all his muscles were trembling, and he still lay on his left side with his arms cuffed behind him, there was only so much he could do to avoid looking at her. He decided to just let his head fall back onto the ground, and once that was done, he closed his eyes too.

 _No. I'm not going to play your game, Haggar. You aren't getting anything from me_.

His refusal to either answer her question or meet her gaze _really_ must have pissed her off, because then she raised her hand and hit Keith with _another_ bolt of purple and black lighting, right in the chest, from only three feet away.

Keith tried to hold out, for one second, two, three, but then he screamed and thrashed and bucked again, unable to do _anything_ to get away from here, unable to even try and seem brave. He heard shouts, screams, and voices calling his name, but he couldn't answer. He couldn't even form words. All he could do was scream, and scream, and _scream_.

 _Was this - how Lance - had felt - and Blue - oh god - ohgodohgodohgod -_

He _wished_ he could hide this pain he felt from his team, _wished_ they didn't have to see how _much_ this was hurting him, but he couldn't. This lightning was draining his life away, and he couldn't pretend it was anything less than agony.

 _\- make it stop make it stop make it stop - please - please -_ _ **please**_ _-_

Just as Keith felt his consciousness begin to fade away, the witch flicked her wrist. As the lightning vanished, Keith _tried_ to keep the tears from his eyes, but the best he could do was to try and blink them away as fast as they came. Speech - or even the attempt at it - was beyond him now, and although he knew his Lion couldn't really hear him - not anymore - Keith tried to reach out to Red anyway. It was the least he could do.

… _Red…I'm sorry…but I don't think I can…make it…I'm…sorry…._

When the witch spoke again, Keith _wished_ she sounded less inquisitive and more angry, like she had earlier. This affectation of genuine curiosity was mockery on a whole new and sickening level, and he wasn't buying _any_ of it. There was no _way_ she was actually asking him this question seriously.

"Wouldn't you prefer the pain to cease, Paladin?"

 _Of course he wanted the pain to stop._

 _What kind of stupid question was that?_

Keith ground his teeth and _refused_ to answer, because everyone he cared for was watching this - so of course he wasn't going to say anything in response, not unless he could come up with an insult or something, and right now, he couldn't think of one good enough to use.

 _Maybe….once…his lungs…stopped feeling like…they were on fire…maybe then….he could try and insult her…call her Umbridge…or…s-something…_

He felt heavy footsteps come up behind him, and then clawed hands grabbed hold of his arms and pulled him up so he was on his feet again, holding him firmly in place. Dimly, Keith wondered why they would do that - it wasn't like he could stay standing for very long -

Something told him he had to shut his eyes, _quickly_ , before Haggar's gaze could adjust and fully settle onto his face, so Keith did. He had wanted to close his eyes, anyway. He hurt all over, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could stay conscious. Everything was too bright…too…harsh…the lights seemed…stronger….than they had before…they were… _really_ …hurting his eyes…

When Haggar spoke, her voice came from directly in front of him. It was even, but underneath the calm surface, Keith could feel the absolute power of her words. They almost sounded like a spell.

"Open your eyes, Paladin."

Haggar was _standing right in front of him_ \- telling him _he had to look at her_ \- and Keith knew he shouldn't - something told him he really, _really_ shouldn't - that it was a _really_ bad idea for him to look her in the eyes - but he couldn't remember why - everything still hurt too much to remember exactly why he shouldn't -

" _Open. Your. Eyes."_

Keith flinched at the malice in her voice, but he still kept his eyes tight shut, because he didn't want to look at her - he _didn't_ \- he didn't want to see that anger, that horrible hatred and supreme arrogance that emanated from her like an aura. Then, from over where the screen was, Keith heard Allura let out a scared breath, and it was only _then_ he realized what Haggar was trying to see.

Whenever he was in pain, or scared, or under extreme stress, his eyes took on hints of gold, betraying his Galra heritage. Sometimes, the irises even turned completely yellow - that had only happened once or twice - but -

But his eyes having the ability to change color _at all_ \- that was a _shapeshifting_ ability - an _Altean_ ability -

 _If Haggar saw his eyes - if she_ _ **saw**_ _them -_ _ **now**_ _\- she'd_ _ **know -**_ _she'd know_ _ **what**_ _he was -_ _ **who**_ _he was -_

Keith felt an almost physical sensation of cold run through him, and he shuddered despite himself. He wanted to be anywhere but here, because there was _no_ way this would end well for him.

" _ **Open. Your. Eyes."**_

Keith felt Haggar's claws grip hold of his chin as she repeated the command, and he snarled in pain and fear and rage and _tried_ to turn his face away from her, but she had gripped his chin _tight_ and wouldn't let go.

When Haggar spoke again, her words were even, passionless, and the absolute truth in them was chilling.

"Open your eyes, Red Paladin, _or I will take them from you_. _Do it._ _**Now**_."

At the word _**Now**_ , Keith felt something sharp press against the corner of his left eye - one of her claws, maybe?

 _She wasn't exaggerating - she was going to -_

Keith felt his whole spine go stiff with terror even as his eyelids shot open out of shock and fear and a _desperate_ instinct to keep his sight.

In that instant, he saw that Haggar's face was only millimeters from his own, and for a spilt second, they locked gazes. Then Haggar tilted her head to one side, nodded, and withdrew her claws from his left eye, and the look on her face turned Keith's stomach. He would have thrown up if he could have.

Shit - _shit_ \- _**shit**_ \- she _knew_ \- she _**knew**_ \- no - _no_ \- _**no**_ -

" _Fascinating_ ," Haggar said, and then she had moved a few paces away, turning to face the screen Keith had seen earlier out of the corner of his eye, and she motioned for whoever had hold of Keith to follow her example. As he was forced to turn, to come and stand beside Haggar, Keith realized that now, with her curiosity satisfied, Haggar planned to use him as a pawn, as a hostage, or worst of all - as bait for another trap.

 _To Hell with_ _ **that**_.

* * *

Even though Keith still felt sick and weak, his blood _boiled_ at the thought of being used against his friends, and he bared his teeth into a snarl as he glared over at the witch. It hurt to talk - both sides of his face were badly torn and the deep cuts were still bleeding - but he managed to snarl out a few words before his captors took action to stop him.

"S-Shiro - don't - d-don't lis-"

Then a large, clawed hand covered his mouth from behind, and when Keith tried to wrench his face away from the grip, he felt the claws tighten their hold, digging into the cuts Haggar had left on his face earlier.

 _It hurt, but damn it all, he wasn't going to just_ _ **stand**_ _here and look_ _ **helpless**_ _-_

But when he tried to shake his head free again, the claws over his face tightened once more, brutally digging into his skin, and this time, the pain was much, _much_ worse. Keith couldn't hold back a muffled scream, or stop the tears that sprang into his eyes, or keep his knees from buckling - but he wasn't crying out of fear or terror - he _wasn't_ \- it just - _hurt_ like a _bitch_ \- _damn it_ -

Even though his vision was blurry, Keith could still make out the forms of his teammates, and he _desperately_ hoped they could understand what he was trying to say with his eyes.

 _ **Don't listen to her**_ _\- I'm_ _ **not**_ _a hostage - don't listen to her - whatever happens -_ _ **don't listen to her**_ _-_

The witch glanced over at him, smiled thinly, and returned her full attention to the screen.

"Princess," Haggar said, and her voice was even, cool, and still completely passionless. "If you wish to save your Paladin's life, you will bring your Castle to the coordinates I sent to you, and you will surrender - immediately - to me. Otherwise, you will never see him again-"

Keith snarled and tried to shake his head again, to tell his team _**not**_ to listen, but then he felt the Druid standing by him strike his injured side, _hard_ , and his breath was driven right out of his lungs, and white spots flickered in his vision.

 _Stars, the pain was awful._

Keith heard Lance snarl something before the witch went on again, her voice still practical and very matter-of-fact. Keith thought Haggar was smiling as she continued, her words as cold and cruel as her frozen smile.

"-at least not whole and unharmed. I can always send _pieces_ to you. One for every time you defy me."

Hunk went white as a sheet, but Keith was proud of his teammate for not throwing up. Keith knew _he_ would have, if the threat had been aimed one of the others. He swallowed, feeling his stomach roil and churn at the multitude of unpleasant possibilities Haggar had planned for him.

 _Allura can't find me. I can't call out to Red._

 _I am_ _ **not**_ _getting out of this._

 _Not this time._

No one spoke for a few, awful seconds, and when Allura did speak, Keith thought she looked and sounded like a ghost - pale, set, still, her lips almost completely bloodless, her voice barely more than a stiff, awful whisper.

"We fight Zarkon, and we fight you. That will never change."

The witch raised an eyebrow, and she seemed genuinely amused when she spoke next.

"Oh, but Princess, I thought you and your little team _cared_ for one another. Was I _mistaken_?"

Keith saw that Shiro's cybernetic arm was glowing star-white now, crackling and pulsing like a bolt of condensed lightning, and despite the gravity of the situation, Keith felt a genuine smirk cross his torn and bleeding face.

 _Oh, Haggar was_ _ **dead**_ _the next time Shiro caught up with her…and not the 'this person's heart has stopped beating' dead. The 'there is_ _ **nothing**_ _left of this person, not even a pile of ashes' dead._

Whoever was holding him in place must have sensed his smirk, because then Keith's left leg was kicked out from under him, and he was slammed - _hard_ \- down onto his knees, on the floor next to Haggar.

It was meant to be a final, devastating gesture aimed at his team, to make them realize _just_ what he was in for if they didn't surrender immediately, but the tactic backfired. In that instant, Keith was able to wrench his face away from the claws, and it left him able to talk, just for a second, but a second was all he needed.

The Red Paladin looked straight at his team and screamed with all the breath left in his body, and the spirit behind the words resonated with something more than just volume.

" _ **GIVE HER HELL, TAKASHI!**_ _!_ "

The defiant roar took everyone by surprise, but then whoever was behind Keith struck him across the face, and as Keith reeled from the blow, they grabbed hold of his hair, pulled his head to one side, and brought a knife against Keith's throat, cutting off any further words he might have tried to say. As Keith felt the blade bite into his skin and heard Haggar say something about this being his _very_ last warning, he felt fear, and anger, and terror rise in him, but mostly, he was _furious_.

His team was being _forced_ to watch this, and Keith would do everything in his power to show them he wasn't going down without a fight. His nose was bleeding badly from that last hit, and he was probably going to die very, very slowly at some point in the near future. But sometimes...when you had no other options...all you could do against evil was be annoying as hell.

 _Huh….I guess I did learn a thing or too from Lance…who would have thought… but then…I really never thought I'd make_ _ **friends**_ _, either… life is just_ _ **full**_ _of surprises…_

"…For all you _proclaim_ to care for him, it seems to have its limits…" Haggar had just said to the screen, smirking herself now, and at that, Keith rolled his eyes so that his team could see how _annoyed_ he was with her evil monologuing. He didn't believe for a _second_ that his team would laugh at his gesture, but he did it all the same, to show them she hadn't broken him.

Seeing Keith roll his eyes at her words, Haggar snarled under her breath about him never _learning_ the first time and said something to the person holding Keith in place. The Red Paladin braced himself for more lightning, or maybe a deep gash on the throat, but Haggar had something else in mind _entirely._

* * *

Before Keith realized what was happening, the knife was gone and instead, a damn _muzzle_ made out of some kind of coarse leather was being shoved onto his face. Keith recoiled away from it, anger temporarily lending him strength and power. He _hated_ masks - they cut off your air, your voice, your freedom. He _hated_ them, and Haggar must have seen that, because she was still smiling that damn smile at him.

"- _ **no**_ -"

Keith thought he heard Hunk say something too, harsh and sharp and angry, but then whoever stood behind him had managed to pull the mask tight over the lower half of his face, completely covering his nose and mouth, effectively gagging him. At that, Keith snarled again, and though it wasn't very loud, he was pretty sure it got his point across.

\- _what_ _\- does she_ _ **collect**_ _these things - what the_ _ **fuck**_ _is_ _ **wrong**_ _with her -_

Keith saw how pale Lance went at the sound of his snarl, how angry Hunk looked, and he felt another surge of anger run through him as he felt the guard behind him start to buckle the mask firmly into place.

 _ **Damn it**_ _\- I can't do anything but look at them now -_ _ **damn it**_ _-_ _I fucking_ _ **hate**_ _this -_

Damn the witch, for doing this to him, _and_ to his team. He wasn't some kind of freak show, to be shown off as an example of bad behavior to those he cared for.

Keith tried to twist free of the mask one more time, more out of habitual defiance than from any real hope of escape - but that was a mistake, because then whoever was tightening the strap behind his head _pulled_ , _hard_ , and his head was yanked backwards as the mask went _painfully_ tight, cutting into his flesh and into the gashes Haggar had given him earlier.

Keith felt his back arch in reaction to the force of that gesture, and before he could stop himself, he gave a muffled scream of pain that took every last ounce of his breath with it. He thought he heard Pidge let out a sob, and he was certain that Coran let out a curse.

As his head was allowed to fall forward again, Keith realized that the blood from the cuts on his face was also filling his nose and mouth, and he gagged at the coppery taste. It was only then that he realized that now the mask was on _so_ tight that it was impossible for him to get any air into his lungs.

 _Was this it? Was she just going to let him_ _ **die**_ _like this, drowning in his own blood? No - no - nononono -_

Keith tried not to panic, tried to just hold still and hope that maybe, in just a few seconds, that the mask would get looser, or maybe his nose would stop bleeding, and he'd be able to get in a breath or two.

As the seconds dragged on, and neither of those things happened, he realized that maybe Haggar didn't _intend_ to let him breathe - ever again. At that thought, Keith felt fear overcome him, and he tried to break free, but it was useless. Whoever stood behind him made sure he stayed in place, on his knees, next to Haggar.

 _Katie - don't look - please don't look - I don't want you to - see - this -_

He felt his shoulders begin to heave and quiver with the effort to breathe, or at least to scream, but he couldn't make any noise. He could _taste_ the blood soaking through the mask, _hear_ it starting to drip onto the floor, and he could _see_ the terrified expressions of his team, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do _anything_ to get air.

Over the frantic pounding of his heart, Keith heard Coran swear again, saw Allura go even whiter with both fury and fear, and Shiro - oh - god - _Shiro_ \- Keith had never seen his brother look this afraid, this sick with fear and fury - completely unable to do anything to help - and the others - the others were -

 _Oh god oh god oh god - Hunk - Lance - Katie - don't look - don't look - please - I don't - want you - to see this - please don't look -_

Keith wished he could pretend that he wasn't scared, but he couldn't - he _couldn't_ \- he was _terrified_ \- he didn't want to die like this - unable to breathe - unable to even say goodbye -

 _Everything was pain - he didn't want to die like this - he didn't - he_ _ **didn't**_ _-_

Even as dizziness overwhelmed him, Keith felt his vision grey out and fade into whiteness, and his head fell forwards onto his chest. As the world around him started to spin away into the darkness, he hoped that his Lion couldn't feel him dying like this… _not like this…_ Red would…Red…would….

 _Red - I'm sorry - I'm so sorry - Shiro -_ _ **please**_ _\- tell Red -_ _ **I'm**_ _**sorry**_ _-_

Beside him, Haggar said something, and the mask was adjusted so that Keith could finally take in ragged gulps of air, and he did, frantically coughing and gasping in the air he needed so desperately. As he did so, Keith sagged forwards, utterly exhausted, feeling all of his muscles shake and quiver. If that Druid hadn't been holding him in place, he would have crumpled onto the ground.

Right there at the end, Keith had been absolutely convinced Haggar intended to let him die by choking to death on his own blood as his friends watched, completely unable to do anything to save him.

… _Hell…maybe that was…still on the list…_

* * *

After a few more moments, Keith's sight finally returned fully, and the first thing he saw was that many drops of his blood had fallen to the ground. He could still smell and taste the blood, too…and for that to be the case, his blood must be smeared _all_ over his face right now, as well as dripping down…from the mask… _ugh_ …

Keith was _really_ glad he couldn't see what he looked like at the moment, because he was pretty sure he'd feel sick if he did…and Hunk…would…. _definitely_ throw up…if Keith…looked up at the screen now…because…this was…. _way_ too much…like a slasher…movie…

 _To be honest_ … _he had…never really liked those…kinds of movies…either…he didn't like seeing…all those people…get hurt…or…the blood…or…the screams…._

Keith knew he was still reeling from the near-death experience, because his thoughts were scattered, and his vision still whirled with spots at the edges. Even as he tried to blink the white spots away, Keith felt the witch's clawed hand take tight hold of his hair and pull, _hard_ , bringing his face up so that she could show his team what he looked like now.

He tried not to cry out, or make any noise, but he hurt too much to manage it completely. As Haggar forced him to look up at his team, he wished he could have said what he was thinking.

 _\- I'm sorry - I'm sorry - Hunk - Katie - Lance - please - don't look - I don't want you - to see this-_

When they saw the full extent of Keith's condition, the team's reactions were immediate, instinctual. Coran's hands formed into fists, and he seemed ready to tear something into pieces. Lance's face went almost corpse-white in both fury and fear, and Pidge started shaking like a leaf in blazing rage, her lips pressing into a thin white line.

When Keith saw their reactions, he winced. He _hated_ seeing his team hurt like this on his account. He tried to turn his head away, but he couldn't break free from Haggar's grip, and when she tightened her grip, he couldn't hold back a sharp noise of pain as her claws bit into his skin.

 _Damn_ , he _hated_ this mask. He hated not being able to _say_ anything, _do_ anything except look at them and hope that they knew _he wasn't a damn hostage_. No matter what the witch did, he didn't want them to listen to her demands _._

Haggar must have guessed what he was thinking, because when she spoke, her tone was amused, her words cruel.

"It _is_ truly fitting for him to be called the Red Paladin, is it not? Especially now _…_ but then, I do suppose that it is only natural for _red_ to signify _blood_."

Keith would have tried to glare up at her, but he didn't even have the energy for that.

His blood continued to drip down onto the floor, and Allura - calm, steady, brave Allura - went as pale and as still as a Weeping Angel. Keith knew that it was only because she faced Haggar that she didn't turn away or cover her face with her hands. Beside her, Hunk's face settled into a cold, steady expression that Keith didn't ever remember seeing before, and Shiro…Keith had never seen Shiro go _so_ pale, _so_ quickly, or his eyes start to glint with _that_ color of steel, going as sharp as swords and as hard as diamonds.

Dizzy and sick as he was, Keith tried to turn his face away again, because he didn't want his brother to see him like this, coated in blood and more than half-dead, but the witch had a death grip on his hair, and he couldn't manage it. When Keith tried again, he felt the Druid behind him - the one still holding him in place - draw out the knife and, with one swift motion, cut deep into his neck, and although Keith tried again to get away, he couldn't.

It hurt, it hurt like _hell_ , but before there was any permanent damage done, the knife flicked away from the cut and then was pressed near his carotid artery, the tip and edge of the blade still gleaming red. Keith went rigid with instinctual fear as the blade bit into his skin the second time, every nerve in his body _screaming_ that he could die at any second, and that moving or talking was _not_ a good idea. He saw that his team was similarly frozen in place, eyes locked onto his.

 _I'm sorry,_ he wanted to say. _I'm really,_ _ **really**_ _sorry._

Keith tried to regulate his breathing, desperately trying not to show how much pain he was in as Haggar continued.

"Princess, you really should be familiar with the price of defying the Galra Empire. I _would_ suggest you consult your father on the subject…but then…he is long since dust."

At that, Keith saw Allura go absolutely pale in pain that wasn't at all physical, and he wished he could channel his inner Smeagol, turn his head, and bite at _least_ two of Haggar's fingers right off. The only thing that prevented him from trying was grip on his hair, the mask over his face, and the knife at his throat. Well, that and the dizziness that still whirled at the corners of his vision.

 _Damn that witch, for saying those things to Allura. Haggar_ _ **always**_ _did this, she found the most vulnerable area she could and then -_

Then Haggar shrugged, and as Keith felt the knife start to dig into his neck again, he tensed once more out of instinctual fear.

"Last chance, Princess. Surrender, or he dies."

Allura looked as if she would give anything in the world not to answer, but to Keith's relief, she gave the same answer as she had before.

He just hoped his team knew what he felt, what he would have said, if he'd had the chance.

 _It's okay. It_ _ **really**_ _is okay._

Haggar's words were cool, easy, completely business-like. "Ah, well. Such is the price of war."

* * *

Just then, the Black Paladin stepped forwards, and his face was set into an expression of cold fury, and his eyes were afire with absolute rage. Keith realized that he had _never_ seen Shiro this angry, not even _close_. If Shiro hadn't been like a brother to Keith, the Red Paladin would have found the look in those grey eyes absolutely _terrifying_.

" _Haggar_ ," Shiro said, and his voice was cold, even, and completely set. He looked like he would have reached through the screen and disembowled the witch where she stood had he possessed the slightest ability to do so, " _Stop playing games, and_ _ **let**_ _._ _ **him**_ _._ _ **go**_."

Haggar laughed, and the sound bit into the air around them all like blades.

" _I_ _ **mean**_ _it_ ," Shiro said, and it was only then that Keith realized that Rayzor wasn't standing anywhere near Coran, or Allura, or the other Paladins.

 _That was weird…._

 _Why wasn't Rayzor on the bridge with…._

Even as Keith thought the question, he felt himself begin to drift off. The pain was getting to be too much for him. As his eyes began to close and his head started to nod to one side, the witch pulled on his hair again, and this time, Keith couldn't keep himself from letting out a hiss of annoyance, and he glared up at her.

 _ **Damn it**_ _, woman, do you_ _ **have**_ _to do that every single_ _ **fucking**_ _minute?!_

Strangely enough, even though Keith was still scared out of his mind, a thought came to him that was so completely stupid and normal, it almost made him laugh - even though it seemed like he was about five tics away from getting killed.

 _Okay, Lance - maybe you had a point - maybe I_ _ **should**_ _\- cut my hair occasionally -_ _ **damn**_ _\- that_ _ **really**_ _hurts -_

"You're in no position to make demands, _Champion_ ," the witch purred, tightening her hold on Keith. The Red Paladin continued to glower up at her, but she seemed to be ignoring that for the moment.

Shiro pointed at her, with his white-hot, sparking arm, and said, very steadily,

"Yes. I am."

The witch cocked her head to one side in puzzlement.

"How is that, exactly?"

Shiro's smile was very cold, and when he spoke, his tone was very, _very_ sincere.

"Because if you _don't_ , I'm going to use my powers to send a lightning strike to your bridge - targeting _you,_ and _you alone -_ and turn you into _fucking_ _**stardust**_."

From the look in Shiro's eyes, Keith knew his brother was completely serious.

All things considered, Keith thought that was actually a pretty decent plan.

It wasn't like the witch could just ignore the other Paladin's abilities, and Shiro had freaking _lightning_ on his side.

And who knew…? Maybe Shiro's lightning bolts _could_ target her, and only her.

Whatever the case, Keith _really_ hoped he got a first-row seat for that battle.

 _That'd be…freaking…._ _**awesome**_ _…_

But then Haggar laughed scornfully at Shiro's words, and it was a sound Keith wished he could completely erase from his memory.

… _.Cntrl + Alt + Del…haha…Pidge and her nerdy programming…some of it clearly rubbed off on me when I wasn't looking…_

"Even if you _had_ the ability to use that power to its full potential - which I _doubt_ \- there is a high probability that you would also end up killing this Paladin who you proclaim to care so _deeply_ for."

Shiro just glared at her then, and Keith saw that Shiro's eyes were still flat and hard, and he knew his brother did not answer right away because he was too angry to find the words he wanted to say. The witch went on, her voice taking on a different tone.

"Besides, _Champion_ , you are not the only one to consider him…irreplaceable." At that, Keith felt Haggar let go of his hair and lay her palm on top of his head in what seemed to be a - an almost _gentle_ \- manner.

Okay, _that_ was _completely_ unnerving.

Given a choice, Keith would have preferred another lightning bolt to the chest, or another set of claws to the face.

He didn't want her to touch him, not ever, but especially not when she was pretending to _care_. She'd just tortured him - almost let him _die_ \- and now she was acting like she actually _cared_ about him even as one of her cronies held a knife to his throat?

 _God, Coran was right about her. She was_ _ **completely**_ _sick._

Had he possessed the ability to do so, Keith would have pulled away from Haggar's touch in disgust and repulsion, but with the knife still digging into his neck, all he could manage was to wince and half-close his eyes, turning his face to one side, as far away from her as he could manage.

At Haggar's gesture, and his own reaction to it, Keith saw Pidge ball her hands into fists at her sides, Hunk's face twist into a snarl, and Lance took a step forward, as if he could reach through the screen and knock Haggar's hand away from Keith.

The Red Paladin was pretty sure if looks could kill, Haggar would have been speared clean through by two pairs of Altean eyes, and Shiro looked like he wanted to electrocute Haggar with the sheer force of his willpower.

Despite everything, despite how sick and scared he felt, Keith thought that it was sort of nice, to see a whole group of people ready to kick someone's ass on your behalf, even if it didn't look like it was going to work out that way.

 _Haha, take that, witch. My family is_ _ **pissed.**_

But in that same instant, Keith saw Shiro's eyes harden, and his jaw clench, and when his brother spoke again, his voice was even, calm, and measured.

"Well, then. How about a trade?"


	5. Revelation

Keith felt his eyes go wide in fear as he realized what Shiro was planning to offer, and he shook his head frantically from side to side, ignoring the way the knife and the witch's claws dug deeper into his skin as he did so.

\- _**No**_ _\- Shiro -_ _ **no**_ _\- don't you dare - don't you_ _ **fucking**_ _dare -_

Then the person behind Keith pressed the the knife against Keith's throat again, _harder_ , _deeper_ this time, and the _pain_ of that deeper cut caused Keith to freeze in place for a moment.

Whatever this knife's ability was, it wasn't normal. The cuts before had _hurt_ , but this deeper gash burned like _acid_ , and Keith could feel…something…start to come over him…a hazy, sick sensation that felt as if his entire body was beginning to shut down. Was the blade…poisoned…? It…must…be…

But despite that new pain, desperation still bit and tore at Keith's mind, because he could _hear_ the way Haggar was weighing her options, _sense_ that she was absolutely _delighted_ at this proposed opportunity to regain one of her favorite test subjects.

"….you're saying…you would offer yourself….in _exchange…_ for him…?"

Shiro's nod was tense, short, almost military, but his shoulders were straight and his gaze unswerving, and Keith knew that Shiro was speaking the absolute truth when he answered.

" _Yes_."

At that word, Keith snarled in frantic desperation and managed to twist out of Haggar's grip just long enough to fully meet Shiro's eyes. He _knew_ that Haggar would punish him for this, but he didn't care, because there was no fucking way he was letting Shiro be this stupidly noble. Not on his account. Not _ever_.

 _ **God damn it, Takashi**_ _\- if you do that - I will_ _ **never**_ _forgive you - so don't - don't you even_ _ **fucking**_ _**think**_ _about it -_

In that instant, Keith saw Shiro's eyes go wide with sudden, intense fear, and Keith _knew_ that look. Shiro _never_ had that look on his face when he was in mortal peril.

Only - only when someone he cared for - was -

" _No_!" his brother shouted, and the Black Paladin took a step forwards just as Keith felt a horrible, cold sliver of ice strike deep into his back, near the center of his left shoulder. It _hurt_ \- but - it felt - numb - too - somehow -

… _w-what_ …

Shiro was shaking now, and he seemed about to be sick. His full attention was on Keith's face, and Keith thought that it was a pretty safe bet that any attempt at a prisoner exchange had been discarded…which was good…because otherwise…otherwise he would have had to kick Shiro's _ass_ …for even….suggesting such…a stupid thing….in the first place…

It was only then that Keith realized the knife wasn't pressed against his neck anymore.

It was buried in his back, right up to the hilt.

* * *

Keith felt the pain flare up again in his left shoulder when he tried to move, and it hurt so badly, he whimpered before he could stop himself, feeling his muscles begin to twitch and shiver in pain around the knife.

 _He didn't understand. Why would Haggar do this? Was she trying to kill him again?_

Shiro was saying something, trying to reassure him, and Keith saw that his brother was still shaking, but now it was out of a different emotion. Flickers of lightning were glowing between the fingers of his right hand - that was - different - Keith hadn't known - Shiro could - do that -

"Keith - it's okay - it's going - it's going - to be okay - "

Keith wanted to believe Shiro, he _did_ , but he felt _really_ scared and confused now, and when he tried to twist _away_ from the pain in his shoulder again, he couldn't. It only made it worse, and he let out another harsh, rough cry of pain before he could stop himself, and he saw Allura shoulders tighten when he did. Coran was as white as a sheet, and the other Paladins looked pale and desperately frightened for him.

… _what was…going…on…?_

Keith couldn't completely understand what had just happened, but what he did know was that if he moved at all, that knife in his back would hurt _more_ , a _lot_ more, so he just froze into place again, tense and afraid. Despite himself, he chanced a look back up at Haggar, wishing he could ask the question he was afraid to hear the answer to.

 _...what did…you_ _ **do…**_ _to me…?_

"Oh, it's not a fatal wound," Haggar said, easily. "Or at least, it doesn't _have_ to be. It's just something to deter you or your friends from trying anything foolish, right at the last _possible_ instant. You do have _such_ a history of recklessness."

Keith felt his muscles start to quiver under the strain of staying in place, but he didn't dare try to move again, for fear of more pain, of somehow making his injury worse. He wished he knew exactly what was going on, but it was getting harder and harder to understand everything happening around him.

"And as for that matter, _Champion_ ," the witch said, and her words were poisoned honey, "tell me, are all Paladins _such_ fools? As if I would exchange such a _fascinating_ specimen for _any_ other…especially one that I have…such a _personal_ interest in."

At her words, some of Keith's awareness came slowly back to him, and he realized that Haggar had leaned down so that their faces were on the same level. She was looking back at him with a curious expression, her eyes set, something in them burning with…maybe….interest…or…curiosity…or… _both_ …?

The witch cocked her head to one side, seeming amused at the way he was trying to read her expression.

"Do you think me a _fool_?" Haggar asked him, and there was a hint of dark laughter in her voice.

 _Oh, shit._

 _She had_ _ **known**_ **.**

No poison in his blood could have made Keith go as cold as that realization did. At her words, his friends went silent as well, and he could only imagine the terror in their eyes. He knew he couldn't hide the fear in his own.

 _This entire time._

 _Haggar had_ _ **known**_ _he was her grandson._

 _When had she first -_

"I _thought_ you would show us your true powers, given the proper motivation," she said, very easily, and from the screen, Keith heard Pidge give a short, horrible cry of realization. "True, I did not expect them to be…quite so _effective_ …but all the same, I knew that if your comrade were in danger, you would do all in your power to protect her."

Haggar reached behind Keith's head, loosened the mask, and let it fall to the floor, still smiling at him all the while, the expression cold and absolutely satisfied. It _hurt_ , when the mask tore away from the cuts on his face, but Keith didn't really register the pain, because he just felt sick, and small, and _stupid_ , and he couldn't look away from that awful smile. Then Haggar's index finger stroked his chin, almost affectionately, and he recoiled from it as she laughed once more, almost merrily.

"You see, little one? You are not the only one who can play this game."

* * *

Keith _fervently_ wished he'd thought as far ahead as Haggar clearly had. She had guessed what he truly was from the moment he'd escaped with Lance and the Blue Lion. This entire set-up had been a test to confirm her suspicions, and he'd walked _right_ into it.

Katie had just been the confirming factor in another experiment.

Haggar had thought he would try _anything_ to get Pidge to safety, so she had cornered them both and forced him to attempt to use magic that wouldn't have been possible if he'd _only_ been half-Galra.

Granted, the witch hadn't expected his Altean magic to actually _work_ and get Katie out of the ship…that's why she'd been so furious…but…all the same…Keith felt his shoulders slump as the witch kept smiling at him, as he heard Pidge start to cry. He knew Pidge would never, _ever_ forgive herself for this, even though it wasn't her fault, it wasn't anyone's fault at all, and if it was, it was _his_ , for ever _existing_ , for causing so much pain to those he cared about just by being around them.

Keith wished he could say a lot of things at that moment, but there was only one thing he desperately wanted to say to someone who meant more to him than he ever could have expressed.

 _Oh, Katie…I'm so sorry…_

Then he wished he could call out to Red, but the sigil on his right wrist - where Haggar had carved it deep into his skin - still burned with that pulsing dark energy, cold and horrible and _wrong_ , and all Keith could do in that instant was hope his Lion knew what Keith would have said to him, if he'd had the chance.

 _I'm sorry, Red….I'm so sorry you have to lose another Paladin this way…I'm…I'm so sorry…_

It hurt to think now, it even hurt to breathe. The knife in his shoulder felt frozen over, and it seemed that it was draining all the warmth right out of him, like blood from a wound. Despite his best efforts not to, Keith felt his entire body began to tremble.

It was all just too much.

Haggar _knew_. She _knew_ they were related now.

He felt cold, and sick, and scared in a way he hadn't known was possible until this instant.

She knew. She _knew_ , and she was never, _ever_ going to let him go.

When she saw that realization in his eyes, Haggar reached out again and made as if to stroke his cheek in a gentle manner, like a caring parent or a proud relative, but he snarled and recoiled away from her as far as he could, glaring back up at her with a hatred and a deep-set rage that he _wished_ he could have expressed in words.

Words had never come easily to him. Now, with the poison in his veins, and the pain and fear dimming his mind even further, they wouldn't come at all. Still, he hoped she understood _exactly_ what his actions meant, that she could read the meaning of them in his eyes.

He didn't want her anywhere _near_ him, not now, and not _ever_ , and _especially_ not when she was pretending to be fond of him or concerned for him. He wasn't her dog, he wasn't her puppet, and he certainly wasn't her family in _any_ definition of the word that had true meaning.

He would never, _ever_ think of her as part of his family.

She was _nothing_ to him, just as he was _nothing_ to her.

Keith would have said it if he could, but since he couldn't, he made sure his eyes expressed what his voice could not.

 **Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me.**

In that instant, Keith saw something flicker behind Haggar's eyes, something he couldn't quite name. She withdrew her hand and straightened up again, something cold and distant coming into her face that hadn't been completely there a moment before.

"You really are like him, you know," she said, and so quietly, only he could hear the words. "I should have noticed long before now."

Keith could hear no warmth in her voice, no hint of any interest beyond a purely scientific nature.

 _We are part of the same bloodline. I'll have to take that variable into account once I begin my experiments._

* * *

Keith _wanted_ to be brave, but he only felt scared, and sick, and he _knew_ he didn't want to look at Haggar anymore. As he turned to look again at his friends, he realized his sight was fading and flickering at the edges, and it was getting harder and harder to see _or_ hear anything at all. His head felt….heavy…and he really had to try and keep it lifted high enough to see his team, instead of the floor in front of his knees.

"Well. Time presses." Haggar said, and those few words, sharp and harsh and clipped, sent a death-knell through Keith's heart. He felt something in his spirit start to crumble as he realized that no matter how much he tried to ignore her words, he could not escape the awful, glaring truth that she was going to take him away.

 _He was_ _ **never**_ _going to be with his family again._

Keith didn't want to cry. He didn't want Haggar to know that she could hurt him this badly by taking him away from the people he cared for, but he was in too much pain to hide the truth from anyone, least of all from himself. When he felt hot tears well up and start to drip down his face, he made no effort to hide them.

 _He didn't want to be separated from his family._

 _He didn't want to be alone again._

When she saw his tears, Keith thought he heard Haggar say something cutting and dismissive and cold, but he didn't care. He just tried to ignore her as best he could and kept his gaze focused on his team, desperately hoping that they knew _just_ how much he cared for them, and what he would have told them if he'd been able to find the words in time.

In the past, he had been the one left behind, had his family taken from him by death or imprisonment. Now, even though he was the one being taken away, the pain of this loss still felt as harsh, as awful, and as wrenching as ever did, and it was all the worse for knowing that his friends would never, _ever_ stop searching for him. They would _never_ stop looking, but Haggar knew how to run, how to hide, and now that she'd blocked his connection to Red, there was no way for Allura to track him.

Thanks to the poison, Keith could already feel his awareness starting to fade, and it took all his remaining strength to keep his eyes open. All the same, in that one, single moment when he looked back at the screen, Keith noticed a very, _very_ small detail, one only he could have caught, because he and Pidge had laughed about it when they'd been training together earlier in the week.

Katie's hair was…shorter than it had been then.

Not noticeably, not unless you _knew_ her, lived in the same Castle as her, spent almost every day with her…but on the screen, Katie's hair was shorter than it should be.

 _Wait a minute._

Come to think of it…her reactions _hadn't_ …really…been very…Katie-like…at all…

They'd been - close - sort of - but where had been the _swearing_ every other word, the _raging_ at the Druids to _give Keith back_ before she tech-engineered a pulse beacon that would send their purple-robed asses right out of the sky?

She…really… _hadn't_ _been_ ….very Katie-like…at…all…

So that meant…the Katie onscreen wasn't really _Katie_.

It was a decent imitation, but…

It was a _hologram_.

Which…meant…the _real_ Katie was somewhere else, off-screen, controlling the hologram…but…also doing something else….entirely…

Which meant that…maybe…just maybe…his friends had come up with a plan. A plan to get him out of here.

His team had never intended to let Haggar get away with him…this whole time…they'd…been…stalling…trying…to….buy…time…for…whatever…crazy scheme…they'd thought up…

Keith didn't move, didn't blink, didn't do _anything_ that might give whatever his friends' plan was away, but inwardly, he swore to himself that the next time anyone, _fucking_ _ **anyone,**_ called him a 'Red Shirt', he was going to shove a mirror in their face and tell them to say it again, _one more time_ , because there was something they were denying.

Every single person on this _entire_ team was a God Damn Red Shirt.

 _Every_. _Single_. _**Fucking**_. _**One**_.


	6. Plan? What Plan?

The plan to rescue the Red Paladin _was_ a crazy one.

In fact, most people would have called it absolutely insane.

Which was _precisely_ why it was going to work.

* * *

 **Rayzor**

Rayzor adjusted his grip on the Red Lion's controls and shifted uneasily in his seat.

He still thought this Lion might eat him.

 _Well, at least he hasn't yet…_ he thought, and cleared his throat.

'Look', he said, and he could have sworn Red huffed in complete annoyance. 'I'm not excited about this working relationship either.'

 _Neither am I, Council Member._

Red's voice took on an almost predatory tone.

 _I would_ _ **much**_ _rather crush you between my jaws._

Rayzor tensed at that, but then Red sighed and amended his statement.

 _Or, I would have, before now._

Rayzor got the sense that Red was looking at him appraisingly.

 _My Paladin thinks much of you. I trust my Paladin. So,_ _ **I**_ _will trust you._

Rayzor let out a sigh of relief.

"All right, then," he said. "I'm…uh…glad we worked that out."

Red growled, but it wasn't a completely threatening growl, just…annoyed.

 _When you find my Paladin, I wish you to treat him with_ _ **care**_ _. I cannot sense much, but I can tell he is_ _ **very**_ _badly injured._

From the passenger section, Aurelis sighed and double-checked the emergency med-kit he held, muttering under his breath.

"Stars, when _isn't_ he?"

Red snarled at that, and the healer glowered around in an annoyed manner, waving his hands around in complete frustration-born-of-absolute-worry for their friend.

" _Well_?! Tell me I'm wrong!"

Rayzor knew his old friend was desperately concerned for Keith, and feeling utterly useless in their current situation. They were still flying stealthily around the Druid's ship, waiting for the handhold teleporter Matt and Sam Holt had only just invented minutes ago to pick up on Keith's signal.

Rayzor still wasn't entirely certain what miracle of science Matt and Sam Holt had pulled off, but they said something about 'residual aura' and 'teleportation magic' and 'Red and Keith sharing enough of a similar quintessence for this to work' that ultimately resulted in this last-minute, improvised, beyond-crazy scheme.

Even though Rayzor was impressed at the human species' ability to come up with inventive solutions, it also concerned him somewhat. He was more and more thankful that they were now allies.

* * *

Once Katie had been portaled back onto the bridge, she'd been able to create a hologram of herself to join those standing on the bridge.

Then - Rayzor wasn't entirely sure how - she'd been able to use the portal's point of origin - Keith - to find the Druid's exact location.

She'd done a lot of muttering and swearing while she figured it out down in the tech labs with her brother and father, but in the end, they'd been able to find out where in the star system the Druid's ship was without using any Altean tracking magic or anything that could possibly alert Haggar to their plan.

From that point on, the rescue was - theoretically - simple.

Even with the witch's spell interfering with their ability to communicate, once Red got close enough to Keith, the Lion would be able to pinpoint his location.

Once he did, Rayzor would use the teleportation device to reach Keith, break the circle that prevented his escape, and use the device again to teleport them both back to Red.

Then Aurelis would begin emergency medical treatment on the Red Paladin while Rayzor flew the Red Lion back to the Castle.

Once Red gave the signal that Keith was safe, the other Paladins and their allies were going to kick Druid ass.

But _right_ now, the other Paladins and the two Alteans were buying them time, because of course, Haggar would want to gloat over having the Red Paladin in her power, would want to twist the knife before she took him away forever.

 _Foolishness_ , Rayzor thought grimly. _If she'd had an ounce of sense, she would have just taken Keith and left by now -_

Red roared at him in both fury and terror, and Rayzor glared around at the Lion. "I'm NOT saying I WANT her to do that!"

Aurelis looked up, confused and a little unnerved. "Uh…Rayzor…you're shouting at yourself again…"

Rayzor glared back at his friend and pointed at the main view screen irritably. "I'm _shouting_ at the _Lion_!"

Red growled in annoyed affirmation, and Aurelis face palmed himself, dragging his clawed fingers down his face in sheer frustration and exasperation.

" _Stars_ , it's a miracle _any_ of us are still alive," he grumbled, and for once, Rayzor and Red agreed on something.

Then Red went still, and Rayzor felt all of the Lion's annoyance and worry drain away to be replaced by a confusing mixture of gladness, fear, and a quickly consuming wrath.

 _ **THERE**_! I FOUND HIM! USE THE TELEPORTATION DEVICE - I WILL GUIDE YOU TO HIM!

Rayzor adjusted the portable, two-use only teleportation device on his wrist. Matt Holt had said it looked like a…watch?

Rayzor thought it was a strange name to call something that one wore on their wrist. Did it watch you? Or did you watch it?

 **RAYZOR!** Red practically screamed, and Rayzor felt all his own worry, all his own fear, rise into his chest, threatening to drown him, and he completely lost his temper, yelling at the top of his voice even as he threw himself out of the pilot's chair and rose to his feet, drawing both his sword and his blaster from their sheaths as he did so.

"You're **sure** you can get me to him? It's not like we have any room for error!"

 _ **RAYZOR, GO! WE ARE OUT OF TIME!**_

Red's roar was one of sheer desperation. Rayzor remembered that emotion, that frantic, overwhelming sense of fear that he had last felt when he had thought Beyris might be lost to him forever. It utterly consumed him, and everything else besides retrieving Keith and bringing him back faded from Rayzor's mind.

Without any further delay, he activated the teleportation device.

To Hell with the danger, the Druids, and all of the countless things that could go wrong.

If anything came up, he'd improvise.

* * *

 **Aurelis**

Even as Rayzor vanished from sight, Aurelis re-activated the secure comms unit he held and spoke quickly into it.

"Beyris, did you find it? Did you find those medicines yet?"

There was a stutter of static, a buzz, and then - a series of squeaks and high-pitched noises that Aurelis assumed was supposed to be comprehensive speech. He growled in frustration and banged the comms unit against his forehead.

"No! No, Platt, I need to talk with _Beyris_! I'm sorry, I just don't understand you yet!"

Insulted squeaking.

Aurelis ground his teeth and thought about asking why tiny MICE were on the same spaceship as giant CATS but refrained. Now wasn't the time.

"Plat! PLATT! PLEASE GIVE THE COMMS TO BEYRIS!"

There was some static, and then his junior medical assistant's voice came over the line. She sounded breathless, but that was to be expected. She'd taken shortcuts around the Castle, but it was still a very big spaceship. She must be moving at full speed through the airvents and ventilation tunnels.

"Yes - Aurelis - I did - and I - double-checked - the labels - with Platt - they are - _definitely_ \- the ones you wanted - me - to find - and I'm - bringing them - to that healing pod - you prepared - now - Sam and Matt - say to tell you - that they're ready - for your signal - "

Aurelis nodded vigourously, realized she couldn't see him, and vocalized what he'd been thinking.

"Good, good, _excellent_ work, Beyris. We'll need everything ready to go once we land in Red's bay - there isn't any time to waste - "

Just then, Aurelis' comms unit fizzed and buzzed with static, and he almost swore. "DA -oh - right - uh - Beyris - I have to go - uh - yes - well done - and - um - and stay safe -"

Beyris' voice, usually cheerful and bouncy, had a strangely serious tone to it when she answered. "I will - and - and - you too, okay?"

Aurelis found that he had to blink and swallow before he replied. "Oh, yes, Beyris, of course - uh - thank you."

Then the comms unit switched off, and Aurelis whirled to face the empty passenger section, bellowing at the top of his voice at the annoyed rumblings and juddering body of the Lion. Red's emotions were quickly spiraling out of control, and that had been the main reason why Aurelis' comms had gone offline.

"RED! RED, WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS! WE CAN'T JUST SET THE SHIP ON FIRE!"

 **BUT MY PILOT IS IN** _**DANGER**_ -

Aurelis nearly pulled out his hair. "I KNOW! THAT'S WHY RAYZOR WENT IN! TO **RESCUE** **HIM**!"

Red was snarling in stubborn, rebellious protest now, and Aurelis knew he couldn't talk the Lion down from taking direct action much longer. So, Aurelis did what any average person would do when losing a shouting match with a tempermental Lion who was about to undermine an entire rescue operation.

He lost his _freaking_ mind.

"STARS ABOVE, THAT IS **IT**!" Aurelis howled, hopping up and down with frustration. He marched right up to the control panel and glared at what he thought might be the Red Lion's eyes. "AS THE CASTLE'S OFFICIAL HEALER, I **DEMAND** THAT YOU SHOW SOME SHRED OF SELF-CONTROL!"

Red roared back at him then, and Aurelis was almost glad for the direct confrontation of their wills. It distracted them both from the very disturbing mental image of Keith at Haggar's mercy.

I **AM**! I AM THE VERY **PICTURE** OF SELF-CONTROL! DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU CAN TELL, HEALER?!

Aurelis made a worried, exasperated sound through his nose and stormed back towards the passenger section as he shouted his answer over his shoulder. It seemed that Red was also glad for this outlet for his worry and fear. " _YES_! YES I _WOULD_ LIKE TO KNOW! _HOW_?!"

Red's reply was so loud, so completely out of could have shattered the silence of a black hole.

 **THE!**

 **SHIP!**

 **IS!**

 _ **NOT**_ **!**

 _ **ON**_ **!**

 _ **FIRE**_ **!**

Aurelis knew they were both frantic with worry, and he knew that Red knew that too. That knowledge was the only thing that kept them both from completely freaking out while they waited for Rayzor to retrieve Keith.

Well, more so than they already had.

But then Red froze into place, and Aurelis did too. Then Red roared once more, this time in both relief and rage, and Aurelis threw himself back towards his medical kit, intent on starting emergency medical treatment on the Red Paladin the very _instant_ he and Razor were in the Red Lion.

He and Red both knew they had no time to waste.

* * *

 **Rayzor**

When Rayzor appeared at the boundaries of the Druid's circle, he knew it was because this had been the closest he could get to Keith without getting trapped as well.

So, _this_ was the circle preventing Keith from escaping, the spider's web that Haggar had woven to ensnare Rayzor's friend and ally.

Without delay or hesitation, Rayzor brought his sword down in a blow that shattered the glowing tiles at his feet. The energy from the broken tiles sparked and fizzed like fire, taking everyone in the room by complete and utter surprise. Rayzor used that split second to charge forwards, roaring at the top of his voice and firing his blaster at _anything_ that was dressed in purple and was moving in his direction.

Rayzor reached the middle of the circle in three ticks, saw the Red Paladin, and lunged forwards, making sure to run the Druid holding the Red Paladin in place through the chest with his sword.

As Keith started to fall to one side, Rayzor threw away his blaster, caught the Red Paladin by one arm, and dragged him several steps away from Haggar, all the while trying not to dislodge or jostle the knife embedded in his friend's shoulder. The Head Druid was staring at Rayzor in something resembling complete shock and confusion.

" _ **You're**_ _\- helping -_ _ **him**_?" she croaked. Rayzor wasn't dumb enough get into a full conversation with the witch, but even as he activated the teleportation device, he decided it was only good manners to respond.

Still holding Keith close, his sword held ready at his other side, Rayzor smiled with all his teeth at the witch as the silver light whirled around them both, taking them back to the Red Lion.

" _ **What does it look like?**_ " he said, and he thought he saw Keith smirk even as the Head Druid reached out for them both, screaming.

Then they both appeared back in Red's pilot cabin, and Razor shoved Keith into Aurelis' waiting arms and leapt for the pilot's seat.

Red was shouting ' _MY PILOT_!' and Keith was shaking and unable to focus on anything, stammering something about 'd-damn r-r-r-red sh-shirt s-s-syndrome' and Aurelis was babbling something about 'have to get back to the Castle, _nownownownow_ ' and Rayzor just felt _completely_ overwhelmed.

"RED, COME ON, LET'S **GO**!" he shouted, flinging himself back into the pilot's seat, and Red immediately began bolting for the Castle and its' sickbay.

 _MY PILOT! HOW IS -_

Rayzor spared a look back at Aurelis, but the healer shook his head. He had laid Keith down on the floor and was trying to keep Keith's head steady, but the Red Paladin seemed to be shaking and was unable to focus his eyes on anything. Without another word, Rayzor put his mind to task again, piloting Red towards the Castle at the fastest speed the Lion could manage.

 _Come on, Rayzor,_ the Council Member told himself, _there's got to be some way to keep Keith awake until - oh - oh - OH -_

Even as he used every instinct at his command to manage the controls, Rayzor roared something back at Keith, a line from that show he and the Black Paladin liked so much.

"Appears - uh - appears we got here - just in the nick of time! What does - what - does - what does that make us?!"

Keith's eyes seemed to clear, and when he looked over at Rayzor, he almost seemed to be smirking again as he replied, his voice faint and raspy, but at least his eyes were half-way focused.

"….big….d-damn…heroes…s-sir…"

Aurelis huffed out a frantic-sounding laugh as he finished the quote. "Um - um - oh! A-Ain't we j-just - oh - oh no - nononono- RAYZOR! RAYZOR, **HURRY**! WE'RE OUT OF TIME!"

Rayzor spared another look back at Keith, whose eyes had rolled back into his head, and then he and Red came into Red's bay at a much, much faster speed than any sane engineer would have _ever_ recommended.

Even as they landed, Red roared out to the other Lions, still waiting in their bays for his signal.

"I HAVE MY PALADIN! FINISH HER! FINISH HER **NOW**!"


	7. Lightning Strikes

Hearing that Keith was out of the Druid's ship at last, Black threw back her head and roared, "NOW, TAKASHI, **NOW**!"

As she relayed to her Paladin that his brother was completely out of the witch's grasp, the Castle shook with the force of the Black Lion's roar.

Shiro whirled to the other Paladins, shouting. "GET TO YOUR STATIONS! GET READY TO FIRE ON ANYTHING THAT COMES AFTER US WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

Almost before the words left his mouth, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance were all running towards their Paladin's stations, screaming wild war whoops and threats of immediate, bloody destruction on the witch who had almost killed their friend.

At the same moment, Shiro raised his right arm to point at the main comms screen where Haggar still stood with a stunned expression on her face, and Allura saw that Shiro's arm was glowing pure white, like a star, and in his palm was - a - a glowing ball of white lightening. She hadn't known that was _possible._

Seeing the Princess' astonished and excited expression, Shiro gave her a smile that had no mirth in it whatsoever. It was a warrior's smile, a lion's smile, and Allura felt a mirror image of it cross her own face at that instant as she readied her own attack.

Haggar was going to regret harming one of their Paladins.

* * *

Together, the Princess and her Black Paladin turned to face the screen one last time, where Haggar's shocked and astonished face still showed. Rayzor's attack on her Druid's circle had definitely left damage on her ship's bridge, because there was smoke whirling and sparks dancing in the background.

Without attracting attention to herself, Allura made an effort of will and began to open up an invisible portal in front of her and Shiro. It wasn't a very large portal. It was just about the size of a large comms screen. Allura focused all her willpower on keeping it hidden, but also ready to open at the instant of her choosing.

When Shiro spoke, his voice was thoughtful, calm, and, Allura thought, maybe even a little bit…excited.

" _Say_ , _**Haggar**_. Do you know what a Chidori attack is?"

Haggar clearly did not, but she attempted to regain control of the situation in the way she usually did, by dismissing any knowledge she did not possess as worthless of her time and energy.

"It - it matters not - you cannot strike me here. I am too well - "

Shiro's smile at that statement was so _completely_ unnerving, Allura was glad - again - that he was on her side in this fight. Then he half-turned his head, back towards Allura, but when he spoke, Allura could have smiled at the genuine affection in his eyes.

"Allura, what you think - should we tell her?"

Allura knew what Shiro was going to do, and she couldn't resist a satisfied smile of her own as she nodded, and then the Black Paladin turned his gaze back to Haggar, the lightning in his palm beginning to spark in all directions.

"…you know what… _Haggar_ …I think I'll just _show_ you…"

This was going to be _wonderful_ to witness. Allura could not hold back a chuckle as the Black Paladin continued, the lighting still pulsing and flickering in his hand like a star.

"…but then again…you are an _exceptionally_ slow learner…so I'll spell it out for you, too."

As Hunk, Lance, and Pidge all sent their defense drones flying into position around the Castle's particle barrier, Shiro looked directly at the witch again, and his eyes were pure silver, sparking and hot and furious. Allura felt amazed and awed at the way his eyes were glowing and added it to the list of things she really loved about this man.

Shiro brought his right hand up, pointed two fingers directly at the witch's face, and said, with such focus and heat and intensity, it was as if his words were lightning bolts themselves,

" _It's when I turn your ass to_ _ **dust**_ _._ "

With that, Shiro let the lightning fly. It sparked and shot like a spear from his hand, striking out at the main comms screen at the very instant Allura opened the portal she had prepared.

They wouldn't have been to use this attack if Keith hadn't sent Katie to the bridge through a portal. When he had, it had taken them all by complete surprise, and then Allura had come up with this idea, and Shiro had gladly agreed to it.

Unlike teleportation, Altean portals could be _two-way_ doors, and since Keith had sent Katie through one onto this bridge, the Black Paladin and the Princess of Altea were now sending something _else_ through a matching portal, right back at Haggar.

A faceful of lighting, to be exact.

The results were _extraordinarily_ satisfying _._

The lightning shot right through the portal and hit the bridge of the witch's ship, striking whatever stood in front of it with the full force of an electrical storm. Even as the witch screamed and recoiled in shocked surprise, flames began to flicker on the corners of the screen.

Allura and Shiro did not relent in their attack. If anything, they _intensified_ it.

Over the lightning, Shiro was shouting something, and despite the gravity of the situation, Allura laughed at the words, and it was a genuine laugh, one of sheer delight and pride in her Paladin as he shouted at the witch who had hurt the people he cared for.

"YOU WANTED A WEAPON, **HAGGAR**?! **WELL** , **HERE IT IS**! **WHAT DO YOU THINK**?!"

 _Oh, yes_ , Allura thought, as she and Shiro unleashed destruction on the witch and her ship.

 _I really,_ _ **really**_ _love this man_.

* * *

Although the attack was powerful, they couldn't keep it up indefinitely, and once Allura sensed Shiro's strength fading, she made eye contact with him, and with a final effort, they each did two things.

Shiro ended his lightning attack just before Allura closed the portal. Then he turned and began to make his way towards the Black Paladin's station, intent on joining in the fight that was about to begin, but Allura caught him by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

She managed a weary smile at him as he looked back at her, and when she spoke, her tone was gentle, but firm.

"Takashi, go to your brother. We've got this."

Shiro's eyes were still glowing silver, but the ferocity in them was gone. He glanced back towards Coran, and the advisor nodded once, firmly.

"Indeed we do," he said. "And don't forget, we're portaling out in only a few moments anyway - so really - you don't have to worry about anything - "

A small head popped up from a nearby grate, and Beyris's face appeared. It was sooty and grimy, but she clutched several packets of what looked like - nutrition or something - in her hand, and she cheerfully offered one to Shiro.

"Aurelis says you'll need to eat some of these," she told him earnestly, and then she squinted at his eyes, and delight entered her voice.

"Wow! You really _are_ Keith's brother! _Your_ eyes change color, too!"

At Keith's name, Shiro seemed to return to himself, and without another word, he turned and began to hurry towards the sick bay. Beyris wiggled out of the ventilation shaft and took a step after him, still holding out the nutrition packets and looking worried, but Allura caught her up in her arms.

"It's all right," Allura told Beyris. "I'll make sure he - gets them - later -"

Beryis looked after Shiro, and when she looked back at Allura, her eyes were sad.

"…um…is he…mad…?" she asked, and Allura hugged her.

"Not at us, sweetie," she answered. "He's - upset - because - because the witch - hurt his friend - hurt _our_ friend -"

Beyris nodded. "Yeah, I sort of thought so - but for a second - I thought maybe he was mad…at us…too?"

Allura glanced over at Coran, but the advisor came over and patted Beyris' head. "Oh, no," the advisor said, but the Princess could tell he was also speaking to her, reassuring her. "Not at all. He just needs to make sure that Keith is going to be all right. He'll be more like himself in a little while."

Beyris looked down at the nutrition packets she still held in her hands. "Oh. Okay." Coran saw her set her jaw and begin to wiggle out of Allura's arms. At that, Allura couldn't hold back a laugh, and she set Beyris down. "What - "

"I'm _going_ to go help Matt and Sam!" Beyris said, holding out several nutrition packets towards Allura. "Here, you take these - for you guys - and I'll take the rest to our - uh - tech team!"

Allura took the packets and turned back towards Coran with a questioning look on her face.

"…tech…team…?" she asked, as Beyris pelted out of the room with the boundless energy of the very young.

Coran shrugged. "I think it means - computer wizardry. Or at least, that's what Matt told me."

* * *

Down in one of the many Altean areas filled with computers, Matt and Sam Holt were doing what they did best - lending support to their team in any way they could. With Allura concentrating on the attack, it was up to the Holt men to set up and initiate the wormhole sequence for their escape once the signal was given.

"I need those star maps!" Matt shouted, and he pushed his chair back with such force, it sent him wheeling half-way across the room, to the other control panel he needed to get to. From the other side of the room, Sam tossed him the necessary star-chart, and Matt reached up and caught it mid-air even as Pidge's face, flushed and excited, came over their secure comms channel.

"CODE CHIDORI! CODE CHIDORI! IT'S TIME TO FLY, BITCHES!"

Sam let out a shout of excitement and threw several switches. "Excellent, Katie!"

Matt finished coding in the right command and, as the Altean wormhole whirled into being around them, taking them all far, far away from the reach of the witch, he threw both hands in the air, twirling around in his chair in victory.

"AND _THAT'S_ HOW THE HOLTS ROLL, **BITCH**!"

As they vanished into the Altean wormhole, Sam sat back in his chair, let out a breath of relief, and grinned over at his son.

"Or, as my generation would say, Eat _dust_ , Haggar."

Matt made finger-guns at him, grinning far too widely for the expression to be only satisfied. "Hey-hey, maybe she _is_ dust. I mean, it's at _likely_ , right?"

Sam's smile was that of a father who, no matter what the circumstances, planned on defending his young. "One can only hope."


	8. Epilogue

Even as Red skidded to a landing in his bay, Rayzor was leaping out of his chair and lowering the ramp.

"Come on - Aurelis - I'll take him - what should we do about the- "

The healer had already sliced through the cuffs, but he hadn't moved the knife at all.

"I can't treat that here," Aurelis said. "We have to get him to the infirmary - now - come on - hurry-"

With no ceremony whatsoever, Rayzor picked Keith up like he was a child, and _ran._ Aurelis hurried after him with the Red Lion's roar ringing in his ears. Now that he was outside the Lion, the healer could no longer make out the words, but he sensed the meaning behind them all the same.

"Come on, Keith," Rayzor growled as he ran. "Don't you die on us now - if you do - Red will most likely - uh - _eat_ me - so - I'd take it as a - a personal favor if - you didn't die - right now - well - or ever, really- but _especially_ not now -"

Keith made an annoyed sound, and rolled an eye to look at him, but Rayzor was just glad he seemed able to hear him.

"-uh-huh - well - I'll take that…under…advisement…"

Then they were at the infirmary, and Aurelis was telling Rayzor that he needed help to get the knife out of Keith's shoulder.

"How do I - "

"Just help him sit upright," the healer said, taking hold of the hilt and letting out a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Keith," the healer said, "I'm not going to lie to you - this is going to hurt - but it's poisoned - so we have do this - okay?"

Rayzor's hands were on both of his shoulders, and Keith clearly would have rolled his eyes if he'd had the energy.

"…yeah…sure…why…n-not…"

Then Rayzor nodded at Aurelis, and the healer took hold of the hilt and pulled, hard. Rayzor felt Keith snarl and try to pull away from the pain, but it was over soon enough.

"…I fucking… _hate_ …my life…sometimes…" Keith said, and Aurelis didn't say anything as he tossed the knife onto a tray nearby and began applying some sort of antidote to the wound. It clearly hurt, but Keith seemed only capable of being annoyed at the pain.

"… _fucking_ …. _ **hell**_ …" Keith managed, and Rayzor tried to think about something that might help distract the Red Paladin.

"Um - oh! Keith - uh - what's a Chidori attack?"

Keith looked at Rayzor as if the Council Member had lost his mind. "…w-what…?"

Rayzor looked over at Aurelis, and the healer nodded.

 _Yes, try to keep him awake for now._

Keith still looked confused, so Rayzor repeated the question. The Red Paladin seemed to muster his energy, and when he replied, his voice had a bit more energy to it.

"…'s an…attack…lighting…'s…pretty…badass…w-why?"

Rayzor grinned. "Well, Shiro said something about pulling one once you were out of harm's way - "

But Keith's head had fallen forwards, and Rayzor looked over at Aurelis again.

"Try to keep him awake," the healer said. "Just don't - uh - hit him - "

Rayzor looked confused for a second, but then he saw how very bad the gashes on Keith's face were, and he let out a snarl of fury.

"I hope Shiro _kills_ her," he said, and at the sound of his brother's name, Keith raised his head again.

"…yeah…'d...be nice..." he managed, and Rayzor nodded encouragingly.

"Go on - "

Keith seemed to rally, and he nodded again, the motion painful, but stubborn. "…'d be…good…if he…gets her…this…time…"

Rayzor nodded again in agreement. "Yes, yes it would be -"

Keith's gaze went rather hazy, and he didn't seem to realize he was saying what he was thinking.

"…can see…why…your planet…hates…the Galra…though…" he said, and at that, Rayzor and Aurelis exchanged concerned looks.

"…uh…" Aurelis said, but Keith went on, his eyes clearly seeing something else entirely.

"…'s…not…like…it's…hard…to see….why…"

He blinked and shivered at something neither of the others could see.

"… _stars_ …why did…she have to find out…what I am…"

Rayzor exchanged another look with Aurelis, this one of both concern and fear. Then the Council Member decided that it was important to bring Keith out of whatever memory he was in.

So, Rayzor shook him by the shoulders, but as gently as he could, and when Keith blinked and looked back at him, Rayzor could see that Keith wasn't going to be able to stay awake for much longer, but he thought it was important for Keith to hear this.

"Keith, you're a Paladin…and…uh…you're…you're safe…here…so…"

Aurelis sighed. "What my old friend is _trying_ to say is that there is no way we'd let anything happen to you, Keith, so it's all right to rest now."

Rayzor pointed at Aurelis, nodding. "Yes. Yes, _exactly_."

Keith let out a half-laugh. "Hah, you're…like… _really_ bad…at saying what you mean…Rayzor…"

The Council Member let out an annoyed snort. "Yes, well, isn't that _rich_ , coming from you."

Keith shrugged. "…eh…never was…very good…at…it…"

Then Coran contacted them over Aurelis' comms unit and told them that Shiro was on his way down to the infirmary, and said they should prepare for a wormhole jump.

"We don't think anyone will try to follow us," Coran told them, "but stars above, we're ready for them if they try."

* * *

Some time later, after everything had settled down, Rayzor went to go tell Red that his Pilot was on the road to recovery.

Allura had said that she wasn't sure how long it would take to undo Haggar's spell, but she thought that eventually, it could be lifted. In the meantime, Rayzor would act as the go-between for Keith and Red while Keith remained in the sick bay.

Red took the news with…well, not good grace, but Razyor thought that it was more out of concern for his Paladin than anything else.

 **Is he awake? Can I see him soon? Can -**

Rayzor crossed his arms and glared up at the Lion.

 _Stars, this Lion tried his patience._

 _\- just like his Paladin did -_

"I'm not a healer, Red. All I know is that for now, he's resting - and I _promise_ that once I know anything more, I will tell you _immediately_."

Red growled unhappily and curled up into a ball. With a great deal of effort, the Council Member made another attempt at trying to allay the Lion's fears.

"He is - more comfortable now - and - the Black Paladin is with him - so - that's good-"

 **Hmmph.**

Rayzor gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated huff of breath.

"It's not like I'm happy with this situation either, Red."

Red growled at Rayzor then, but he didn't raise his head or make any threatening gesture. It was a growl of sadness, and annoyance, and it was tired beyond comprehension.

 **I** _ **know**_ **that.**

Rayzor felt exasperation rise in him again, but he thought back to what he'd heard Keith say before - _patience - yields - focus_ \- and took a moment to think before he replied. A realization came to him in that moment, and the Council Member felt understanding mix and merge with his frustration at Red's hostility.

"Ah. You…remembered…something, didn't you?"

Red growled again, but this time, Rayzor could hear the old, old pain in the Lion's voice.

 **It was the same as…as my last Paladin…and…and once more, I could do** _ **nothing**_ **to help.**

When Red spoke again, Rayzor realized that the tired, familiar feelings of fury and frustration the Lion felt were directed not at him, but at the speaker himself.

 **Useless.**

 **I was** _ **useless**_ **.**

Rayzor remembered feeling that way once, a long time ago, when he had seen his brother die at Sendak's hand.

That feeling had been…terrible.

Rayzor wasn't usually someone who tried to comfort another person. He just never thought he'd be very good at it. But something told him that Red needed help, now, and since Keith wasn't here, it was Rayzor's job to try.

Rayzor shifted his weight and knew that whatever he said, it wouldn't be enough to fix what had been done to either of Red's Paladins.

But then, sometimes you _couldn't_ fix what happened.

Some hurts ran too deep to ever fully heal.

Sometimes, all you could do was try and help as best you could.

The Council Member cleared his throat, looked Red in the eyes, and said, with every ounce of sincerity and feeling he could muster,

"Red, I give you my word that I will do everything in my power to help your Paladin, and to keep him from further harm."

At that, Red brought his head up and looked at Rayzor in what might have been surprise.

 **You…are…** _ **serious**_ **…?**

Rayzor glowered at Red.

"Of course I am! Why else would I say it?!"

Red's tail twitched, as if in both uncertainty and hope.

 **It's…just…I thought**... **that…**

Rayzor felt his claws dig into his palms, but he was able to only hiss out the words instead of shouting them, which he thought spoke volumes about his ability to control his emotions.

"Yes, I _was_ his enemy, once. I was foolish, and _cruel_ , and _**stupid -**_ do you really think I don't know that by now?!"

Red might have blinked in surprise, but then, giant magical mechanical Lions didn't really blink.

Rayzor went on, intent on making this Lion _understand_ that he had meant what he said before.

"Red, I have _changed_. Your Paladin is my friend, Red, and I do not turn my back on a friend. What I told you is true. I will do _everything_ in my power to keep him from harm."

Red's tail twitched again, and he laid his head back down on his paws.

 **Well…thank you…Rayzor.**

Rayzor nodded again.

"It's the least I can do, for both you and him."

His head still on his paws, Red tilted his head slightly.

 **Oh? Why is that?**

Rayzor heard small footsteps running up behind him, and he turned his head to see Beyris running at him at a full sprint.

" _Uncle_!" she shouted happily, and she leapt forward to give him a big hug around the knees.

Red rumbled a purr at the sight, and Beyris looked up at the Lion and beamed cheerfully.

"Hi, Red!" she said. "Keith's still pretty tired, but he told me to tell you to please _not_ _eat_ my Uncle."

When the Lion spoke again, Rayzor could tell the Lion understood more than just what Beyris had said. He understood Rayzor, too.

 **Ah. I see.**

Rayzor looked down at the top of Beyris' head and felt himself smile.

"Well, wasn't that nice of Keith-"

Beyris nodded emphatically, looking up at him. "Oh, yeah, he basically asked me to _run_ here to make sure Red knew _not_ to eat you. But it looks like that wasn't going to happen, so - "

Both Red and Rayzor looked back at each other, and Red let out another rumbling growl that was half-laugh, half-purr.

 **Very well, then, little one. I promise, I shall** _ **not**_ **\- what was it - oh, yes -** _ **eat**_ **your uncle.**

Beyris seemed to understand him.

"Oh, good," she said, and then both Rayzor and Red realized what that meant.

Beyris could understand a Lion's speech, without being inside the Lion, or having piloted one.

They both stared at her, eyes wide in surprise. She looked between them, smiling.

"What?" she asked, and she pointed at the little mouse with the pink eyes who was perched on her shoulder.

"It's just like listening to the mice. I thought everyone could do it."

Rayzor looked back at Red, and for what might have been the only time in his life, the Red Lion seemed frozen to the spot in astonishment.

… **uh…we should…tell the Princess…** he said, and Rayzor nodded in agreement.

What were the odds - they weren't arguing - that was another first.

Beyris beamed cheerfully at Red, even as the mouse squeaked and nodded its head in agreement.

"Red," she asked, even as Rayzor took her by the hand and started towards the door, "what does 'quintessence-sucking soul-eater' mean? You were saying that a lot when you were - "

 **Uh-oh…** Red said, and even Rayzor could pick up on the sense of mixed trepidation and nervous hilarity in Red's voice as he and Beyris left the Red Lion's bay to search for the Princess.

 **...** **Black...is going...to** _ **kill**_ **me...**


	9. Bonus Scene: Infirmary

Even as Coran told them that Shiro was on his way, and that they should prepare for a wormhole jump, Keith heard Aurelis tell Rayzor that they needed to have Allura check his quintessence levels before they put him into a healing pod.

"-the _last_ thing Keith needs is any further complications - and I don't like the way that sigil is still glowing -"

Rayzor was still helping him sit upright, and Aurelis was applying some sort of bandage to his back, but everything was getting dimmer now, and Keith figured he should just close his eyes, because hell, if he couldn't see anything clearly anymore, what was the point of keeping them open and wasting energy?

Aurelis said something else to Rayzor, something that Keith couldn't quite understand, but it didn't seem that the healer needed Keith to do anything, so the Red Paladin just tried to concentrate on breathing.

It was a lot harder to manage than it should have been.

 _Dammit_.

Keith hated feeling this sick and weak, but there was nothing he could do about it - not unless there were some way to go back in time and _not_ get caught by Haggar - but it wasn't like - they had a time machine - or - a Tardis - or something -

A thought struck him. If Shiro was coming - that meant the others would come too - and they hadn't liked it when - when he'd been covered in blood. He should - he should try and get some of it - off -

His right hand still burned and hurt, and Keith wasn't sure he could move his fingers, but he was pretty sure he could still use his left hand. Maybe he could get some of this blood off his face before - before Katie came down here - or Hunk -

He must have said some of that out loud, because he heard Rayzor say something that sounded…concerned…and then Aurelis was telling Keith that it was all right, that they would take care of it, but that he really, _really_ shouldn't touch the cuts on his face until they were treated.

Keith guessed the healer had a point, and then Rayzor was saying his name again, but not too loudly, as if he was trying to get Keith's attention without startling him.

"Keith - listen - I'm going to help you lie down, all right?"

Keith half-shrugged to show it didn't matter, he hurt like hell anyway, and then both Aurelis and Razor helped him lie down, the healer talking the whole time.

"- on his right side, his _right_ side - be _careful_ with his injured shoulder -"

"-I _know_ that, Aurelis - I'm not _stupid_ -"

If he'd had the energy, Keith might have laughed at the growl Rayzor shot at the healer, but his throat hurt, and he didn't want to talk any more than he had to. It was getting difficult to sort out what was going on.

Then Keith felt someone trying to brush the hair away from his face, out of his eyes, and Keith thought it was probably Rayzor, because the fingers didn't feel like Allura's, or Pidge's, and Aurelis was still mumbling somewhere nearby as he sorted through the different medicines, and whoever was trying to move the hair out of his eyes had claw tipped fingers -

… _just like Haggar…_

Keith swallowed and focused on breathing steadily again, because this touch was _nothing_ like Haggar's. It was definitely - the touch of a friend - it was - efficient - but kind - it - wasn't like hers - at all -

Rayzor's voice cut into his thoughts as the Council Member turned to speak to someone who had just entered the room.

"Aurelis says we can get him into a healing pod once Allura is sure his quintessence levels will remain stable - but until then, we're just going to treat what injuries we can -"

Then the Council Member moved away, and someone else - someone different - was near him and saying something.

"-Keith - hey - can you hear me? Keith?"

Everything was starting to fade, and it took Keith a few seconds to put a name to the voice.

"… _Shiro_?…" he said, but that was all he could manage, because his throat hurt - and his head - and his shoulder - and his side - _everything_ \- _**hurt -**_

"Yeah, I'm right here," his brother said, and Keith felt someone take hold of his left hand, the only part of him that wasn't bleeding or completely messed up in some way. "Keith, listen, we have to treat those cuts on your face, but the medicine's going to sting-"

Keith wanted to roll his eyes again, but he still felt too dizzy to open them, so he just muttered "…of… _course.._ it will…" under his breath, and then he heard Rayzor mutter something about witches and lightning attacks and hoping it had actually killed her this time, or at least _disfigured_ \- honestly he'd _only_ be satisfied with either disfigurement or death - but Shiro was talking again.

"-but I'll be right here, okay?"

Keith managed a nod.

"For now, just try to keep your eyes closed," Aurelis said, and Keith would have laughed if he'd had the energy to do so.

"…'s not going…to be a problem…" he said, and he felt Shiro's grip on his hand tighten for a second.

"All right," Aurelis said, and then Rayzor was telling Keith that as soon as he was back to normal, it was high time they sparred on the training deck. It took the Red Paladin a few seconds to realize that Rayzor was trying to distract him.

The healer had already begun to apply the medicine over the cuts, and even though Keith _knew_ Aurelis wasn't trying to hurt him, it was just the medicine counteracting the venom, he still had to grind his teeth to keep from swearing, and he tried to curl his fingers into fists.

 _Stars above - it_ _ **hurt**_ _\- damn it all - everything -_ _ **hurt**_ _-_

"It's okay -" Shiro said, and his hold on Keith's hand tightened too. "It's almost done -"

Keith managed another short, harsh nod, and then Aurelis had finished applying the medicine. As the healer began sorting through bandages, Rayzor was still saying something about training and swords and teaching him how to fight with two blades simultaneously, which Keith thought would be pretty cool…but now, everything seemed to be fading away again.

Shiro said his name, and Keith wished he could tell his brother it was fine, that all he needed was rest, but it would have been a lie. It felt like _everything_ was fading away now, all noise, all light, all sound, all sensation - the cold, horrible wound in his shoulder, the burning cuts on his face, the dull ache of the burns on his wrists and arms, even the pain of sigils on his right hand - _everything_ was fading into silence and darkness.

Distantly, he thought that maybe this fading away wasn't a good thing, but…but it was so nice not to feel pain anymore…that…maybe…it was all right to rest…now…

Then Keith felt someone near him flick his forehead, and for a second, he thought it was Shiro, trying to wake him up, but when the voice spoke, it wasn't his brother's voice.

In fact, it wasn't a voice Keith knew at all.

 _I know it's hard, but I_ _ **really**_ _think you should hold on as long as you can._

It sounded like Rayzor, but it was - different - somehow -

When the voice came again, it sounded as if the speaker knew exactly what he was talking about.

 _It's not your time yet. There's still a lot for you to do._

Keith suddenly knew who the voice belonged to.

Arris.

Arris was telling him to hold on.

* * *

Keith heard other voices then, as if from a long, long way off, and they were calling for him. They sounded scared, afraid that he might not answer.

His friends.

His friends was calling for him.

Keith thought that Arris gave him an encouraging nod.

 _You got this._

Then the noise and light and pain returned, and with a great effort of will, Keith tried to say something - but it was so damn difficult - because Rayzor and Aurelis were talking over each other and Shiro sounded _really_ worried too - so instead, Keith tried to _listen_ , because Shiro was asking him to do something, something important.

"Keith - come on, you can't go to sleep yet - come on - Keith - please - can you look at me? Just for a second - come on -"

The words send fear racing through him, but Keith wasn't sure why. He shook his head once, and it wasn't an action that should have exhausted him further, but it did.

"He was - uh - having a hard time staying awake earlier, too," Rayzor said from nearby, and Keith felt grateful to the Council Member for saying that, because it wasn't like Keith didn't want to look at Shiro - he just felt so _tired_ \- and - and everything - _hurt_ -

"Come on, Keith, _please_ look at me," Shiro said, and Keith knew that his brother wasn't demanding Keith to do it, he was just asking - he was nothing like Haggar - she hadn't asked - she had - just -

 _Open your eyes, Paladin, or I will_ _ **take**_ _them from you -_

The dark memories came surging back full force, and just for an instant, Keith thought he was back on the Druid's ship.

 _She knew - she_ _ **knew**_ _\- and she was going to take him away - he was never, ever going to be with his family again -_

"…no…" he said, but he realized that it was far, far too late to refuse the truth of what had happened.

She'd seen his eyes.

She _knew_.

 _Haggar._ _ **Knew.**_

* * *

He must have tensed in fear, because Shiro swore under his breath and Aurelis also vocalized dark promises of retribution against the witch.

"-I will kill her _myself_ if I get the chance - I _swear_ \- I mean - I _know_ I took an oath to do no harm - but I'd be doing the universe a _favor_ if I -"

When Shiro spoke, his voice was very, very quiet, but intense all the same. "Well, it's not like she's going to just _walk_ off the lightning attack - so that's _bound_ to help with-"

Rayzor's voice sounded then, and it was almost a growl when he said, "Wait, listen, I have a better idea - Aurelis, how about this - Shiro and I will kill her, and you pronounce her dead - that way, _you_ uphold your oath, and _we_ still get to kill that b-"

Light footsteps pattered into the room, and Rayzor clearly had to change what he was about to call the witch mid-syllable.

"-b-bad person - oh - Beyris - "

Hearing that name brought Keith back to reality just as Beyris said,

"I'm supposed to give out nutrition packets - is Keith awake yet? He'll need one - they'll help him feel better -"

It sounded like Rayzor went over to his niece then.

"-yes - uh - he will need one - but - but not just now - come on, Beyris, I'll come with you - Aurelis needs room to work, but we'll come back later - come on - you can tell me which medicines Platt helped you find -"

As two pairs of footsteps left, Keith hoped that Beyris hadn't seen him. He knew that some day, if this fight went on, she _would_ see what the witch was capable of, but he didn't want it to be now…and…and maybe…if they won…she would never have to see it first-hand. Maybe the Paladins of Voltron would defeat Haggar and Zarkon and make things like this part of the past…something Beyris would read about in school but didn't have to _see_ …something that…she could…learn…about…but…not…live through…

… _stars…his head_ _ **hurt**_ _…_

Then Aurelis was saying something else to Shiro, his voice low and quiet, and Keith tried to listen, to understand what was going on.

"He's lost a lot of blood - we need to treat that - _right_ _now_ \- the plasma replacement machine would take too long - so we'll have to think of something else -"

As Shiro answered the healer, saying something about blood transfusion and blood types and compatibility, Keith remembered that Shiro had…the…what was it…the blood type…anyone could…get…huh…that was…surprisingly fitting…it…suited Shiro…so…perfectly…so Keith wasn't surprised when Shiro had to let go of his hand, because of course _Shiro_ was going to be the one giving _him_ blood, and it wasn't like Shiro could hold his hand with the same arm that was…going to…give the…blood…to…Keith…

Keith felt _so_ tired, and his mind wasn't as coherent as it could have been. All the same, he managed to tell Shiro that would mean they were _actual_ blood brothers, and Shiro said something about always having wanted a younger sibling to tell what to do.

"I'll make you do - like - twenty extra training exercises - or - something -"

Keith knew it was an attempt to distract him from the pain he was in, so he went along with it for as long as he could, which wasn't very long.

"…ha… _ha_ …" Keith said, but that was all he had energy for.

… _damn…blood…loss…_

" _Where is_ _Allura_?" he heard Aurelis mutter as the healer started preparing what was needed for an emergency blood transfusion. "I need her help with - with figuring out what this sigil is doing to him-"

Shiro broke off from his half-hearted listing of all the annoying things he would be able to do as an 'official' older sibling to answer the healer's question. Keith heard the underlying tenseness in his brother's voice as he did.

"-she's on her way - the others are too -"

As Aurelis began placing bandages on the cuts on his face and neck, Keith heard more footsteps approaching, and other voices, and he recognized them.

"-ing _witch -_ I want to _strangle_ her-"

"-let's see if we can do anything to help-"

… _Matt…and…Sam…_

Keith was still tired, but he knew that Shiro would worry if he didn't open his eyes at least once, so he concentrated hard and managed to slit his eyes open just long enough to look back up at Shiro for a few seconds. The Black Paladin was sitting in a chair right next to him now, and it looked like Aurelis had already started the blood transfusion.

When he saw Keith looking back up at him, Shiro tried to smile encouragingly, but Keith could tell Shiro was really, _really_ scared for him and trying not to show it.

* * *

"Hey, man -" Shiro said, and Keith wished he could say something funny or reassuring in reply, but nothing came to mind in time before he had to shut his eyes again to try and make the world around him stop _spinning._ Then Keith heard more footsteps approaching, and other voices, and he felt really, really glad they were all here, and all okay.

"Princess!" Aurelis said, and then Allura had come to stand by Shiro and was talking, her voice low and urgent.

"Can he hear us, Shiro? Is he still awake?"

Shiro's voice was tense, but Keith thought that he and Allura were probably saying a lot of things to each other just by exchanging looks.

"Yeah - but - he's having a hard time - keeping his eyes open -"

From somewhere nearby, Keith heard Aurelis shift his weight restlessly as he spoke.

"Princess - we can't place him in a healing pod until you confirm that it is safe to do so-"

Keith felt a gentle hand take careful hold of his right wrist, and even though he knew it was Allura, that she needed to see what was wrong, he still tried to pull it away from her. His hand hurt, his wrist hurt, his arm - _everything_ \- _**hurt**_ \- and he didn't want it to feel any worse - he _didn't_ -

Allura immediately stopped what she was doing and said, very soothingly, "Keith, it's all right, I'm just going to look at it - I promise, I won't do anything without telling you, all right? I _promise_ that I won't hurt you - please -"

Keith still didn't want anyone to touch his maimed hand, but he heard Shiro say, "It's okay, Keith," and at the sound of his brother's voice, Keith relaxed. Shiro would never let anyone hurt him - not even Allura - so - so it was - okay - to - trust - her-

Even so, when Allura gently turned his arm to get a better look at his palm, Keith had to bite back a sound of pain. A few moments later, Keith heard Allura take in a deep breath before she readjusted the way she held his hand, so she could see the second cut Haggar had made.

Keith wasn't able to keep back a hiss of pain that time.

When Allura spoke a few moments later, her voice was still quiet, but it sounded like she wanted to cry.

"I'm sorry," Allura said, and Keith tried to tell her it was okay, but he couldn't manage a full sentence, so he just settled for something short, but accurate.

"…'s n-not…your fault," he said, and a few seconds later, Keith thought he felt a few drops of something fall down onto his Shiro said, in that 'please-listen-because-what-I'm-saying-is-important' way, "It's _not_ , Allura," and Keith thought that they must have exchanged looks again before Allura spoke.

"I can undo this spell - but I think I'll need to do it over a period of time-"

"Allura, can I do anything to help?" Lance asked, and Keith remembered how the Blue Paladin had been practicing his healing magic, but Allura let out a slow breath through her teeth before she spoke.

Oh, that meant she was _mad_ at the witch.

… _glad…_ _**I'm**_ _…not…Haggar…_

"I'm afraid there isn't much you can do with these injuries, Lance - though it is not because you lack the skill. This is - this is dark magic, and I don't - I don't want any of you to come into contact with it if possible. This - this isn't something you can help with - I'm sorry -"

Keith wished he could tell Lance it was okay, that it was the thought behind the offer of help that mattered, but when the Blue Paladin spoke again, it was obvious he still wanted to help in any way he could.

"Okay - uh - is there - is there anything else I can do to help? Anything at all, you just name it - I'm your man -"

"Could you help Coran fetch a containment unit? And - _please_ hurry -"

* * *

Keith's awareness was fading in and out, so he didn't hear all of what happened next, but when he heard Allura say 'sigil', he made an extra effort and concentrated on her voice, so he could understand what was going on.

"-sigil is not only meant to effectively separate a Paladin from their Lion - but also to - to strengthen any other spell the witch casts upon the bearer. From the readings Aurelis has taken, it seems that means this - this poison she used now has a heightened resistance to the antidote. I have to undo this spell first - before we put him into a healing pod - or we risk it growing worse."

Shiro spoke up again, clearly worried.

"- so we - we can't put him in the healing pod until you undo that spell?"

Keith didn't want that to be the case. He hurt everywhere - even though Aurelis had applied the antidote to that knife wound he'd taken in the back - everything still _hurt_. He felt grey, and tired, and sick, and all he wanted to do was fall asleep and leave the pain behind, and be able to talk to Red again.

Allura's voice was steely when she replied, but the anger in it wasn't directed at Shiro, or anyone in the room.

"The witch is part-Altean - and - and that means she knows our medical treatments and counteracts them however she can. I'm guessing this process is going to be - unpleasant - but - but there's no other way."

Coran said something, and Allura gently laid her palm over Keith's right hand again.

"I'm sorry, Keith," she said, "-but I'm - afraid we have to keep you awake for a just a little while longer so we can treat this - we can't chance you falling asleep with the poison in your system - but I promise - I'll finish this as quickly as I can-"

Keith didn't even have the energy left to nod this time. His body felt heavy, and even though no one was speaking above a whisper, every sound rebounded in his skull. Even though he kept his eyes shut, the lights seemed too bright, too.

Then Keith thought he heard Hunk's voice somewhere nearby, and Lance's, but he couldn't make out the specific words, and then Sam was saying something about too many people being in the room at one time - and - and Keith _felt_ it when some of the others in the room turned to leave, and although he didn't know much anymore, he _knew_ he didn't want them to leave. He didn't want _any_ of them to go.

He wished he could open his eyes, but all he could do was try to call out to them. He wished his voice were stronger, but he did the best he could.

"- no - d-don't - l-leave -"

At the sound of his voice, all movement in the room stopped for an instant, and Keith wished he had the _words_ to explain what he meant, because he hated not being able to _tell_ people that they were important to him, damn it, he _hated_ not being able to just _say_ it -

"- _please_ \- s-stay -"

 _If they left now - he would lose them - maybe forever - and - and he - he didn't want to lose them - he didn't want to lose_ _ **any**_ _of them - he didn't want to be alone -_

From somewhere nearby, Katie's voice said, "You - you won't lose us, Pyro - we're - we're not going anywhere-"

At the sound of her voice, Keith felt joy, and then guilt, race through him. He hadn't known if she'd be all right after going through the portal - but he had to ask - he had - to know -

* * *

From where he watched, Sam Holt saw that when Keith's right eye opened for a moment, it was hazy, but he was clearly concentrating on Katie's words. When he spoke, his voice was raspy, but it was still audible.

"… _Katie_ …?"

From where she stood beside her father, Katie jumped almost a foot in the air when Keith said her name. Then she bolted to his side, dodging and weaving around Shiro, Allura, Lance, and Aurelis. As she reached the Red Paladin, she reached out one hand and gripped hold of his left hand where it lay at his side, being careful to avoid the IV line.

"Keith! Keith - I'm here - don't talk - you just focus on staying awake, all right?"

But Keith was making an effort to say something, and she broke off to listen, her eyes furrowed with worry and the effort to hear what he had to say.

"…are you _…_ okay _…?"_

"You _idiot_ ," Katie said, but it sounded like she was trying hard not to start crying. As Keith's eyes drifted shut once again, she patted the top of his head with her other hand _very_ carefully, as if to reassure him that she was absolutely all right and nearby as she started to talk.

"- of _course_ I'm _fine_ \- _you're_ the one we're pumping full of drugs and plasma replacement and all kinds of magic medical stuff right now - and Shiro's giving you blood - that's cool, right? Now he's _literally_ your blood brother - so that's - that's - cool -"

Keith was saying something now, and at first, Sam didn't understand the meaning of his words.

"…'m…sorry…Katie…"

Katie broke off, confused, and Keith went on.

"…I…I d-didn't…mean…to scare you…'m sorry…"

Katie blinked.

" _Scare_ me?"

She sounded confused, but Matt saw Keith's hand tighten on hers as he spoke again.

"…portal…s-sorry…didn't…have…time…to…"

He broke off, and his face creased again in pain as Allura began to unravel the sigil's spell. It was no easy task. She had to pull ribbons of dark, pulsing energy out of the cuts on his right hand, and the Princess of Altea was muttering something about black magic and monsters and twisted hags who should definitely be on the top of their 'assassination' list.

Matt saw that Katie tried to distract Keith again by continuing their conversation.

"Don't - uh - don't worry about it, Pyro - I'll - um - kick your ass on the training deck and we'll call it even - okay?"

When Keith didn't answer her, Pidge looked back at Shiro, and Shiro tried to get Keith's attention by saying his name a few times. When Keith still didn't respond, the Green Paladin called his name too, and at the concern in her voice, the Red Paladin seemed to come out of whatever half-doze he'd fallen into.

* * *

"-Katie - what -"

Keith sounded nervous and anxious, and Pidge didn't know why - he'd been fine just a few seconds before -

"Buddy, it's all right," Shiro said, but Keith didn't seem able to hear him. Katie exchanged a confused and concerned look with the Black Paladin as she tried to reassure their friend.

"Keith, you're fine, we're both fine -"

Keith's grip on her hand tightened, and she felt his pulse begin to race in fear.

"-why are - you - _here_ \- I - I got you out - I got - you - _out_ \- how did -"

Pidge felt her blood go cold as she realized that this poison and black magic were distorting Keith's understanding, warping and twisting it so he thought they were both on the Druids' ship again. Her voice was the only one the Red Paladin was able to hear right now.

Keith was trying to pull his right hand out of Allura's grip so he could try and sit up, and Shiro exchanged another look with Pidge.

"Keep talking to him, Katie," Shiro said.

 _Keith thought she was still in danger - so she had to convince him everything was all right._

Pidge gave Shiro a quick nod of 'Right, I got this' and kept talking while Allura concentrated again on drawing out the poison.

"-I'm _fine_ , Keith, you did get me out - you pulled some awesome magic portal thingy and - and - got me - to - safety - um - uh - which - which was - really - _really_ a - a red-shirt- m-move-"

She couldn't keep from sniffing then, because she hated it when her eyes teared up and her throat closed up too, and damn it, she hadn't meant to start crying, but now she was. She wiped her face quickly, but not before Keith heard her sniffing and tried again to sit up. His face was set in concentration, and even though his eyes were still closed, it seemed like he was about to try and fight someone.

"-'m not going - I'm _not_ \- going - to let them - hurt - you -" he said, and then Pidge had to grab him by both shoulders to get his attention again, because damn it all, Keith was going to _kill_ himself trying to help her - damn it - now she was _angry_ -

"Keith, _stoppit_ , I _mean_ it - I'm not hurt, I'm not hurt _at all -_ just - just stay there - damn it - you're stilll _bleeding_ - _"_

When she told him she wasn't hurt, he stopped trying to sit up. Pidge wished he could look at her, or something, but at least he wasn't in danger of re-opening his injuries now.

Injuries the witch had given him because he had been dumb enough -

 _No._

 _He hadn't been dumb at all._

* * *

He'd been smart enough - kind enough - brave enough - to get her to safety even as the witch was coming at them, claws out and snarling like a demon from the pits of Hell.

Katie already had a whole list of bad dreams, but she knew that the image of Haggar descending upon them was going to be one of the ones that stayed with her _forever_.

Keith hadn't been able to get away from the Druid's trap, but he had managed to free _her_ , and Pidge felt sad, and guilty, and _furious_ that it had taken them so long to find him and get him out of there. Granted, she and her brother and father had probably bent and twisted about sixteen known laws of physics in under fifteen minutes, but it didn't change the fact that she was standing _here_ , unharmed except for a few bruises, and he was lying _there,_ with burns and cuts and poison and - and blood all over his face -

Pidge wiped her face with the heel of her left hand, her right hand still holding Keith's left hand so tightly, she felt her fingers start to ache.

"Damn it, Keith - why do you do this - why do you _always_ do this - it's _stupid_ \- you're - you're so _stupid_ , Keith-"

At that, Katie saw Keith open both his eyes and look up at her in confusion, and she went on, still worried and scared for him, even though he was right here with her in the med bay. Every time she closed her eyes, she was afraid he would be gone again.

"You just - you just run right into danger - and - and then you get _hurt_ \- you almost - you almost lost an _eye_ -"

 _She was never going to forget what she had seen - and_ _ **why**_ _was he looking at her like that -_

" _Damn it_ ," Katie said, and she had to wipe her eyes again. "Keith, why do you _always_ pull this - this - _damn_ Red Shirt routine - every - every single _fucking_ time -"

She hadn't meant to call him stupid - but she was just so _mad_ at him for getting her out while he stayed behind and almost died - so she glared right back at him and said, trying to keep her voice even and failing,

"It's _not_ just a joke anymore - Keith - you _have_ to tell me - _**why**_?!"

Keith seemed tired, but he clearly focused all his energy on trying to answer her question. When he did, it sounded like he thought the answer should be as clear as day.

"…you're…part of…my…family…" he said, and he sounded - lost - like he'd thought she had already known that.

Although Katie had promised herself that she would _not_ start to cry in earnest, she did anyway, because there was nothing else she could have done at hearing that. When he saw she was crying, Keith looked worried, and Hunk thought that Keith was afraid he'd upset Katie somehow.

"…I…I mean…I just…I…I thought…I'm s-sorry…Katie…I didn't…"

Lance saw Sam blink rapidly, and then Matt was swallowing and muttering something as he hastily began to clean his glasses, but it was in a no-I'm-not-crying- _you're_ -crying tone of voice that Lance knew from long experience.

But now Katie was talking very quickly, and she had brought her face closer to Keith's so she was eye to eye with the Red Paladin. She now held his left hand in both of hers.

"Keith - you freaking red shirt - I'm crying because - because I _care_ about you - and of _**course**_ you're part of my _family_ \- "

She was still crying as she spoke, but not completely out of sadness now. There was relief, and annoyance, and a whole lot of other emotions there too.

"I just - I just hate seeing you hurt - _that's_ why I'm crying, you _idiot_ \- _God -_ "

Keith blinked once, but at her words, he seemed to relax.

"…oh…" he managed, and he smiled briefly before closing his eyes again. "…well…'m glad…you said something…then… _hobbit_ …"

Katie made a half-annoyed, half-concerned sound and clearly only just refrained from flicking his forehead and instead settled for growling at him.

"I will _kick_ your _ass_ on the training deck for giving me that nickname-"

"…uh…huh… _sure_ …you…will…"

* * *

Just then, Rayzor came back into the infirmary.

"Beyris is asleep," he said to Lance, who nodded. "How is-"

Allura looked up and nodded at Rayzor. She had been trying to finish unraveling the witch's spell as quickly as possible, and her eyes were tired.

"I'm - I'm almost finished - and Aurelis says the healing pod is ready to go -"

But even as the Princess spoke, Keith's face contorted in pain, and he tried to turn his face away from the light of the room. From where he stood near the door, Hunk went white with fear, and Rayzor exchanged worried looks with Lance as he asked,

"Keith - Keith, what is it? What's wrong -"

"- eyes _-_ " Keith whispered, and the words tore at Rayzor's heart in a way he once would never have thought possible, "- _h-hurt_ -"

Katie immediately realized that the bright lights were contributing to Keith's discomfort, so she kept her fingers laced through his left hand even as she brought her other hand down over both his eyes, blocking out most of the light of the room and the hallway beyond.

"It's okay," she said, and Sam saw that though she hadn't stopped crying, she was able to keep her voice steady and reassuring. "It's okay, Keith. I gotcha. It's okay. We're going to help you - we're going t-"

Katie felt tears well up under her palm, and she couldn't finish the sentence. The poison and that damn black magic were hurting him, and Katie wished she could do _something_ , wished she could trade places with Keith, because what was the _point_ of her if all she could do was watch someone she cared for _hurt_ like this -

Well, if all she could do to help was to stand here and block out the light, she would stand here for days on end if need be, or weeks, or months, or years.

If it would help Keith, she would find a way to blot out a _fucking_ _**sun**_.

* * *

When Pidge covered his eyes, Keith wanted to tell her that it helped, a little, but his throat hurt, and his head still felt like it might split apart, so instead, he just tried to keep his eyes tight shut against the tears that continued to come. Then Rayzor was asking if he could help, and Katie's voice broke as she answered on Keith's behalf.

"It's the lights - they're too bright for him right now - Rayzor - can you maybe - "

From somewhere nearby, Coran let out a harsh breath of what might have been fear, but Keith hurt too much to realize what that meant at first. A few seconds later, he got it.

… _oh…shit…_

 _This - this was -_ _ **exactly**_ _\- what had happened - to Shiro - all that time ago - right before the toxin - took over his body - no - no -_ _ **no**_ _-_

With an effort of will, Keith released his hold of of Pidge's hand, reached up, and pushed her other hand away from his eyes. He almost screamed when the light speared through his eyelids again, but he _had_ to make sure she got away from him before he _changed_.

Katie's voice was confused, but not scared.

… _not…yet…anyway…_

"Keith - what are you -"

It hurt to talk, but Keith forced himself to do it all the same, because he had to warn them, and as he did, he tried to pull his right hand away from Allura, because damn it all, he wasn't going to hurt anyone if he could help it.

"…the poison…it could…hurt you…like…like…last time…please… _please_ go…"

But Allura wouldn't let go of his right hand, she wasn't moving - she wasn't getting to safety - she was just _standing_ there - and Shiro hadn't moved away either - _why weren't they getting to safety_ -

"…get… _away_...I don't want to…hurt you…"

Then the Black Paladin spoke, and it sounded like he was trying very, very hard not to cry.

"Keith - it's okay - we already checked - it's not the same toxin - it's _not_ \- we're certain - this is just - just the residual effects of the witch's spell -"

Coran was telling the others something - and Aurelis was swearing under his breath as he said that the blood transfusion was done, and the Red Paladin wished he could open his eyes again, but the lights of the room _still_ speared into his skull through his closed eyelids, and it was _agony._ Then another, larger hand was shielding his eyes from the light, and when he spoke, Hunk's voice sounded teary too.

"It's cool, man, you're not about to go Terminator or anything - so-"

But even as the Yellow Paladin tried to say more encouraging things, Keith felt exhaustion overwhelm him, and he began to cry. It was all just too much.

 _He couldn't call out to Red - and Haggar had almost taken him away - and he didn't want to be separated from his family, not now, not ever - and everything -_ _ **hurt**_ _-_

Hunk was telling him it was going to be all right, but Keith couldn't stop crying, even though he wished he could. He _hated_ crying like this - he hated it, because it was _stupid -_ there wasn't any good reason for it - he wasn't a captive anymore - he wasn't scared of anyone here - he just _hurt -_

Then Allura's voice cut in, quick and decisive, and Keith felt Hunk's hand fall away from his eyes as someone picked him up and begin carrying him towards the healing pod - or at least - he thought it was towards the healing pod - but his head pounded and ached so badly, Keith wasn't even sure which direction was right or left anymore, let alone where they were going.

The lights were dimmer then they had been before, and Keith was able to look at who was carrying him. It was Shiro, and Keith was glad, because he _hated_ being helpless like this, but Shiro was someone who could help - and - he cared - he always - had -

"- it _hurts_ \- _Shiro_ \- _it_ _hurts_ -"

His brother's voice was rough when he answered.

"I - I know- I'm sorry - we're almost there-"

As Shiro spoke, Keith saw his brother's eyes were glowing silver.

That…seemed…strange…but Keith couldn't think _why_ it was strange. Not yet. Everything still hurt too much.

Keith knew it wasn't a…bad…thing…but…it certainly was…strange…he'd thought only his own eyes could change…color…because…because…he was…

But the world was fading away again.

Maybe once he woke up, it would come to him.


	10. Bonus Scene: Reactions

When Katie appeared on the bridge, Allura ran to her side immediately. Lance let out a startled cry of confusion, and Shiro went as white as his name as Hunk and Coran looked at each other in both relief and concern.

" _Katie_!"

As Allura reached her, the Green Paladin's eyes shot open, and she looked wildly around her.

Allura threw her arms around the youngest Paladin even as Katie began to demand answers.

" _What_ the _fuck_ -"

But when Coran took a step towards them, obviously wanting to help, there was a scream of pain from the screen, and Katie realized what was happening.

 _Haggar was_ ** _pissed_** **,** _and she was taking it out on Keith._

Katie looked up in time to see Haggar grip Keith's face in one clawed hand and pull him forwards so they were eye-to-eye. She was hunched over, just like a witch from a fairy tale. He was on his knees, obviously trying not to look directly at Haggar as she screamed into his face, clearly incensed that one of the Paladins had made it out of her trap.

" _What_ did you _do_?!"

Pidge saw- with sudden horror - that there were really, _really_ deep claw marks on one side of Keith's face. Blood stained Haggar's fingers, and it looked like his other eye had almost been -

Pidge felt rage consume her, and even as Allura started cutting her wrists free, the Green Paladin bellowed at the screen.

"HEY! GET YOUR CLAWS OFF HIM, YOU UGLY OLD HAG!"

When he heard her voice, Pidge could have sworn that something in Keith's posture seemed to grow less tense, but then Haggar struck the other side of his face with her claws, and Katie saw Shiro's shoulders tighten as his adopted brother ground out a scream of pain and tried to get away from the witch by twisting his face to one side.

It didn't work. If anything, it made matters _worse_ because her long, sharp claws only dug deeper into his flesh and she snarled in pure rage, tightening her grip and forcing him to face her again. Despite everything, Keith still refused to look her directly in the eyes. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly fixed on the floor.

 _That_ ** _idiot_** _\- Haggar was going to_ ** _kill_** _him for defying her like that - that_ ** _idiot_** _\- that stupid - brave - selfless -_ ** _idiot_** _-_

Allura was saying something, low and quickly, and with a start, Pidge realized that Allura telling her about a _plan_.

"Get to your brother and father - help them track down Keith - we're trying to find him - quickly - come on -"

Katie got shakily to her feet, supported by Allura, but then Katie grabbed tight hold of Allura's arm.

"Haggar has to think I'm here too," she said, and Allura's eyes widened at the implication.

 _If Haggar thinks I'm working on something to get Keith back, we'll lose any chance we have._

From the screen, they both heard Haggar scream right into Keith's face again, and it was an awful sound, one of rage and hate and fury at having lost a second victim.

" _WHAT_ DID YOU _DO_?! _HOW_ DID YOU DO IT?!"

Pidge didn't hear Keith answer - _typical, this was just_ ** _typical_** _of Keith -_ but then Allura was pushing her towards the door, keeping her out of sight of the viewscreen.

" _Hurry_ ," Allura urged Pidge, and then she and the hologram Pidge returned to the others.

Even as the real Pidge ran swiftly and soundlessly down the hall, she brought up what her hologram could see on her armor's wrist display.

She had to see what the hologram saw so that she keep the hologram active, have real-life responses, to make sure Haggar thought it _was_ her, as much as possible.

It was the only way she could help buy time for this crazy plan.

* * *

Hunk shouted out in real anger as the witch shook Keith fiercely out of uncontrolled rage, and by his side, Lance swore as Haggar threw their friend back onto the floor. Allura winced as the Red Paladin skidded back a few inches when he landed, and Coran swore as the Royal Advisor saw Keith's face tighten in pain.

The worst part about this was that none of them could tell Keith they _were_ coming for him, that they were going to do _everything_ in their power to rescue him. No matter what the witch did, they couldn't reassure him or give any hint of their desperate plan away. All they could do was watch.

But now the witch was saying something about the price of defying the Galra Empire, and as Shiro saw his brother's shoulders tighten, as he saw Keith instinctively try to make himself as small a target as possible, he _hated_ Haggar more than he ever had before.

Allura clenched her fists and wished, again, that they could get to Keith before Haggar hurt him, but they needed _time_. She watched as Keith rolled painfully onto his left side, and she couldn't keep herself from calling out his name, to let him know she was there, and that she would stay, no matter what happened.

He looked back up at them, his teeth clenched tight shut, and part of Allura hated herself for not being able to say or do anything to tell him that they were coming, they were coming to get him out of there -

 _He was so scared - but he wasn't begging them to come help him - gods above - he was_ ** _exactly_** _like -_

Then the corrupted quintessence hit Keith in the chest, and he bucked and jerked and convulsed, screaming in horrible pain. Allura wanted to turn away, to cover her ears or close her eyes, but she forced herself to stay in place, right where she was. From nearby, she heard the others screaming at Haggar to stop, but of course the witch did not listen.

It wasn't in Haggar's nature, to take pity on anyone who defied her.

* * *

As the torture continued, Katie, Matt, and Sam continued to compile theories and formulas and tracking methods, but none of them were unaffected by what they could hear and see over Katie's wrist display.

Samuel Holt snarled at the witch as he heard Keith continue to scream. Near the end, when Keith cried for Red, the witch just laughed.

She motioned for the lightning to cease, and just as it did, she came over and kicked Keith contemptuously in the ribs. He gagged and barely managed to roll onto his side before he started coughing up blood. His eyes were tight shut now, and he seemed about to pass out.

The witch taunted the Red Paladin again, but Keith stubbornly didn't say anything in reply. Sam saw that all his muscles were shaking - most likely an aftereffect of the lightning. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, no matter how hard he tried to.

 **Katie would have been like that too, if Keith hadn't -**

With an effort, Sam stopped his mind from imagining horrible possibilities and returned to the business at hand - creating a two-use teleportation device that would allow Rayzor to get to the Red Paladin in time to save him.

Katie remained seated, tears streaming down her face as she watched Haggar hold out her hand and summon more black lightning. As the witch sent the second bolt of lighting at the Red Paladin, Katie turned her face away, and Matt came and wrapped both arms around her.

* * *

Samuel Holt had already known he hated Haggar. He hated her for having taken Shiro's arm, for having hurt both Shiro and Matt during endless interrogation sessions, but now he realized that he hated her for another reason entirely.

Sam hadn't been entirely sure what to think of Keith being part-Galra. He'd been friends with Keith's parents ever since Matt was in pre-school, but knowing their son shared blood with the witch who had tortured him for information was bound to make anyone a little uncertain of how they felt about the a person, no matter how well you had known him before.

But he and Matt had seen what had happened on the Druids' ship. They'd been patched into the transmission from the bridge, and Sam had lunged to his feet and headed for the door when Haggar had said she was going to take Katie away. Matt had been only a few steps behind him, but then -

Then the Red Paladin had broken free from his guards, and crossed the circle, and -

He'd gotten Katie out, even as Haggar turned back towards the two of them and reached out, intending to maim, to tear, to destroy.

Keith had managed to save Katie, and Sam wasn't sure that was the kind of debt he could ever fully repay.

All Sam's uncertainty, all his unease of Keith's heritage and what it could mean - it all vanished, forever, the instant his daughter appeared safe and sound on the bridge of the Altean castle.

It wasn't just one choice or moment that made you who you were. Not really.

It was countless choices, countless moments, day after day after day.

In the end, Haggar and Keith were of the same bloodline, but they were **nothing** alike.

* * *

The second round of lightning was worse.

It was worse for many reasons.

Keith _tried_ to hold out at first, to withstand it, but this lightning was more concentrated, more focused, and as it hit Keith in the chest, it knocked him onto his back, and the purple light of the circle crackled over his body like it had a malicious will of its own.

Then he tried to get away from the witch's attack, but the dark purple light of the witch's circle pulsed and flickered, acting like a magnet, pulling him back onto the ground, focused on keeping him in place, completely unable to escape or even roll to one side to get further away from the witch.

At that, Keith's eyes flew fully open, and all the breath left his lungs in a harsh, soundless gasp. He thrashed from side to side, his mouth opening and closing silently at first, but after a few seconds that felt like hours, he arched his back, and as he did, he _screamed._

It was an awful scream, one without any semblance of speech or rational thought, and Allura knew her friend was in agony. At the sound, Allura couldn't stop herself from crying out, and the others did as well, some of them calling their friend's name, some of them swearing at Haggar to stop hurting their friend.

All the while, Haggar never let up her attack, and if Keith could hear them, he gave no sign. The purple and black light continued to ripple over his body, hissing and crackling and arching out in miniature lightning bolts from him as his back spasmed again, his head tilted back as far as it could go, his eyes wide and staring and absolutely empty of anything but fear and pain as he kept screaming.

Even when Keith ran of breath, he still didn't stop trying to scream. His body simply bucked and convulsed even harder, his movements becoming sporadic, disjointed. It was only when his eyes began to roll back into his head that Haggar flicked her wrist and ended the lighting attack. Keith collapsed back onto the ground, his chest heaving in and out with broken, painful sobs, and he kept trying to blink tears out of his eyes.

Haggar said, very, very softly,

"Wouldn't you prefer the pain to cease, Paladin?"

Allura wished there were some way, any way at all, to tell Keith that the pain _would_ cease, and _soon_ , just as soon as Red and Rayzor and Aurelis found him, but she could not dare to take the chance.

The witch was clever, and ruthless, and vindictive. If she even suspected there was a rescue attempt in progress, she would slit Keith's throat that same instant and let him bleed to death in front of them.

Haggar had done so before, and Allura knew that the witch would have no qualms about doing it again.

* * *

As Hunk watched, he saw that although Keith was crying, he was trying not to let them see, so Hunk did the best he could to imitate his friend's example. The Yellow Paladin swallowed and blinked _really_ fast because he could see that Keith knew his team was being forced to watch this, and he was determined _not_ to beg his team to come save him. He wasn't going to play along with the witch's game.

Even though he had just spat blood - again - Keith was _still_ trying not to show how much pain he was in. He lay on the ground, but as the witch asked her question, he kept his teeth clenched together and his face averted from her as much as he could, even though his entire body was still shaking from the aftereffects of the torture.

It wasn't just out of pride.

It wasn't just out of sheer stubbornness, or because he didn't want to give Haggar any more satisfaction than she already felt.

It was because he cared for his team, and he wasn't about to beg them to run into a certain death-trap in a useless attempt to save him.

Then Haggar looked back at Allura and _smiled_ , and it was a mocking expression.

"It seems you chose well, Princess," Haggar said, and beside her, Allura saw Shiro's entire body tense in what she knew could only be barely controlled anger at what the witch said next.

"He is _exactly_ like his predecessor."

* * *

Even as the witch said that Keith was exactly like the Red Paladin before him - the one who had died after days of torture for defying Zarkon's will - Matt leapt to his feet, his face set and flushed with both rage and elation. He held what looked like a small black watch in one hand, and he immediately took off running, guided by one of the mice to the hanger where the Red Lion waited. As he vanished around a corner, they heard him bring up their-Castle comms link, which had been secured for this very reason.

"Rayzor, it's Matt! I'm coming to Red's bay - now _listen_ -"

Then Haggar motioned for one of her Druids to pull Keith get to his feet, and once that had been accomplished, she moved so that she stood directly in front of the Red Paladin.

* * *

Lance was clenching his fists so tightly, he wasn't sure he'd ever feel his fingers again. Keith didn't even seem able to keep his eyes open, let alone raise his face. What was Haggar trying to accomplish? She'd hurt him enough already, surely - _surely_ she wasn't going to -

When Haggar told Keith to open his eyes, Hunk and Lance exchanged confused looks. Then, when Haggar repeated her command, Lance's face went white, and Hunk got it a second afterwards. He heard Allura let out a scared breath at almost the same time he did.

 _Oh no._

 _Nonononono_.

From where the Royal Advisor stood near Shiro, Coran saw Shiro's arm begin to glow a dark, ominous hue, the kind it usually took on right before the Black Paladin went into battle.

"Haggar, leave him _alone_ ," Shiro said, but Haggar ignored him. She repeated her command for the third time, and as she did, she gripped tight hold of Keith's chin, forcing him to keep facing her.

Lance hated how his friend tried to wrench his face away, but what followed was even worse.

Haggar threatened to _take_ Keith's eyes from him if he didn't look at her, and Coran saw the terror in Keith's face as his eyes shot open out of a desperate instinct to keep his sight.

Haggar nodded, as if she'd finally been able to confirm a theory she'd been mulling over, and then turned to face the screen once again, gesturing for the Druid holding Keith in place to follow her example.

* * *

When Keith tried to tell Shiro _not_ to listen, the Druid holding Keith in place covered the Red Paladin's mouth with one large clawed hand, and when Keith tried to break away, the claws dug into the cuts on his face, causing Keith to cry out in pain and twist his shoulders from side to side as blood began to trickle down from between the Druid's clawed fingers.

Shiro snarled in anger as the Druid forced Keith to face them all again.

The Red Paladin could only _look_ at them now, but he was clearly trying to tell them that he wasn't a damn hostage, and then the witch gave her ultimatum, just like Allura had thought she might.

Allura felt her own heart stand still for an instant in fear.

 _Please, please, please. I can't watch this happen to my friend. Please -_ ** _please_** _don't -_

Keith snarled at the threat to his life and tried to shake his head again, to tell them _not_ to listen, but then the Druid standing behind him hit his injured side, and Hunk almost threw up himself when he saw the Red Paladin's face go sheet-white in pain, and Lance muttered something about the witch that could have blistered paint off a wall.

Even as she gave the only answer she could to the witch's ultimatum, Allura had to fight against a roiling, churning sensation of fear that threatened to overwhelm her. Even just _thinking_ about what the witch had planned for Keith made the Princess of Altea feel physically sick, and just for an instant, she remembered another face, another friend, who had died alone and in horrible pain for defying Zarkon and Haggar, a long, long time ago.

 _No. No, this is different._

 _We can still get him out of there before they kill him._

 _Rayzor just needs more time._

 _I_ ** _have_** _to buy him more time._

Then Haggar spoke again, and Allura knew the witch was trying to break the team in more ways than one.

"Oh, but Princess, I thought you and your little team _cared_ for one another. Was I _mistaken_?"

At Allura's side, Shiro's arm glowed star-white, emanating heat and light and a humming, crackling sound that she had never heard before. The Black Paladin's face was set and cold, his eyes harsh and angry, and Allura was glad she and Shiro had a back-up plan in place. The only downside was that Keith _had_ to be off the bridge of the witch's ship before they took action, or else it was entirely possible he could be caught in the crossfire.

Then the Druid holding Keith in place kicked one of the Red Paladin's legs out from under him, and Keith was slammed hard down onto his knees next to Haggar. It was both a threat and a statement, meant to show them all that unless they agreed to the witch's terms at once, their friend would die, and not quickly, cleanly, or soon.

Haggar would not grant him that mercy.

But in that moment, Keith was able to twist his face away from the Druid's claws, just for an instant, and he looked straight at them. His face was almost entirely smeared with blood, but his gaze was steady, and Allura knew he _meant_ what he shouted next.

 ** _"GIVE HER HELL, TAKASHI!"_**

At her side, Shiro seemed to freeze into place, as if he had been turned to stone. Lance and Hunk were shouting now, and Pidge's hologram was just staring back at the Red Paladin as if she were seeing him for the last time. Then the Druid standing behind Keith struck him harshly across the face, and Coran snarled in fury as he heard the Red Paladin's nose break.

Allura couldn't keep from crying out as she saw him reel from the blow, unable to catch his balance because his hands were firmly cuffed behind his back, but then the Druid standing behind the Red Paladin unsheathed a knife and grabbed hold of Keith's hair, pulling him back into a kneeling position.

Dizzy but still defiant, Keith bared his teeth up at Haggar, but the Druid behind him drew the blade swiftly across the skin on one side of Keith's face, along his cheekbone, making a short but deep cut so that more blood welled up and ran swiftly down to join the fountain of blood that was pouring down from his broken nose.

When Keith jerked in surprise and pain, the Druid twisted his hold on Keith's hair and pulled his head back and to one side, bringing the edge of the sharp blade right up against Keith's throat. Blood from his injuries still pulsed down his throat and neck, and Coran saw that the lower half of the Red Paladin's face was now stained completely crimson.

" _That's_ **_enough_**!" Shiro snarled, making as if to step forward, but Haggar made a bored gesture, and the Druid beside her angled the knife so it bit deeper into Keith's skin. The Red Paladin jerked again in startled pain, and Shiro snarled again at that, but he stayed where he was. Haggar turned her attention back towards her prisoner, and when she spoke, her voice was even, flat, and terrifyingly icy.

"That was your _very_ last warning, Paladin. Defy me again at your _extreme_ peril."

Keith's nose was still bleeding badly, but he seemed to be just as furious at the witch as he had been a moment before. His breaths were harsh and shallow, and Allura knew that he was in no condition to be putting up a fight.

 _Not that_ ** _that_** _had ever stopped him before…_

* * *

Haggar had turned her attention back to the screen again, and she was smirking as she said, "You know, for all you _proclaim_ to care for him, it seems to have it's limits," and Hunk felt his heart stutter in terror when Keith rolled his eyes at the witch's words, despite the knife at his neck and the fact that Haggar was going to punish him for that bit of defiance. The Yellow Paladin was glad Keith didn't believe the witch, but that didn't mean it was a good idea to openly diss the crazy magic lady who had just given you your 'final warning'.

Lance seemed to be on the same page as Hunk. His eyes were wide and scared, and he swallowed as Haggar's eyes went cold and hard. Coran snarled when the witch spoke to the Druid beside her, and for an instant, Pidge didn't really know why the Druid was putting the knife away.

She could still hear and see everything through her hologram, and she was reacting genuinely to the events on the main bridge, but it sometimes took a few seconds to realize the sheer scale of what was going on.

Then she saw what the Druid was doing, and she swore so vehemently, her brother and father jumped and looked over at her again. Rayzor and Aurelis had just left with the teleportation device in Red a few moments ago, and so all the Holts could do now was wait and watch - but Katie didn't want to watch this - she had never wanted to watch _anything_ like this again -

Another Druid had come forward, holding a mask, and the Red Paladin was recoiling away from it, but Haggar was smiling that damn smile, because she knew - or guessed - that he -

" _Hey_! You don't have to do that!" the Holts heard Hunk snarl, but of course the Druid didn't listen. The Red Paladin tried to resist, but he was smaller, restrained, and physically outmatched by the Druid. It wasn't even close to an actual struggle.

"- ** _no_** -"

Tears started streaming down Katie's cheeks as she watched her friend twist and thrash in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable, but no matter how hard Keith tried to avoid it, it only took the Druid a moment to get the mask over the lower half of his face, effectively gagging Keith even as he tried to fight back.

"Katie…you don't have to watch," Matt said, but Katie shook her head, once.

"I - I owe him this much - at least - at _l-least_ \- "

Sam looked at her, but she saw that he didn't quite understand, so she went on, her voice dull and halting as she watched the Druid callously continue securing the muzzle on her friend, like Keith was some sort of disobedient dog who needed to be punished.

"Haggar - Haggar caught me in the tunnels. He c-came in after me, and that's w-when she caught him - it's - it's m-my fault - that he's there - and - and - I - "

But as much Matt wanted to listen to her, he almost didn't register the words, because all his attention was on the screen.

Keith's eyes had just narrowed in stubborn defiance, and he tried one last time to twist free from the mask.

Matt saw the Red Paladin put all his remaining strength behind the motion, but then the Druid standing behind him yanked the strap behind Keith's head, _hard_ , and Matt felt his own teeth bare into a snarl of fury as his friend's back arched painfully in reaction to the cruel gesture, and Keith's chin was forced up as high as it would go. The Red Paladin let out a stifled noise of pain that became a muffled scream of agony as the Druid standing behind him tightened the mask's straps with a savage jerk, causing the the mask to cut deep into his flesh.

It hadn't been a loud sound, but somehow, that only made it worse, especially because it hadn't been angry, or defiant, or any of the things Keith had _wanted_ to be in front of his team, for their sake as well as his own.

Instead, it was afraid, and alone, and more like a sob than anything else.

 _It was a sign of Haggar's ability to break someone, getting them to cry out like that._

 _But then, she had always been very,_ ** _very_** _good at hurting people._

Even though Sam didn't say anything, his knuckles went white on the edge of the counter. He could tell that the boy was angry at having the mask forced on him, but Sam could see that it was more than just anger.

Keith was scared, too.

It was in the way he looked back at the team now, his body beginning to tremble, and Sam had seen enough pain in his year of captivity to know that Haggar had found a weak point in Keith's defenses, and from here on out, it was only going to get worse.

Sam tried to wrap an arm around his daughter's shoulder, but she shook her head, pushing herself back out of her chair.

"I - I have to get up there," she said. "I have to be near the bridge when - when we get him back - so I can - so I can pilot my defense drone. My hologram - it's only good for - standing in visually - it can't touch buttons or - or anything like that - "

She left the room quickly, taking the display screen with her, and for a few moments after she left, Matt and Sam just stared after her.

Then Matt threw himself into a rolling chair and began calling up star maps.

"I'm thinking once we have him, we should go somewhere hard to find," he said. "Really, _really_ fucking hard to find - especially if you're a pyscho witch who likes to hurt someone when she's feeling all _pissy_ because they threw a _wrench_ into her _plans_ \- "

Without a word, Sam joined his son in locating the system Allura had told them of.

They _had_ to get it right on the first try.

* * *

When the Druid tightened the mask for the final time, Keith's head was pulled as far back as it could go, and as it bit into his flesh, he let out a scream of pain that took every last ounce of his breath with it.

Coran _hated_ that kind of sound, but he _especially_ hated hearing it from someone brave and smart and kind like Keith.

This was what the witch did, she took someone _good_ , someone who valued the lives of others, and she _hurt_ them, she hurt them because she hated what they were, and if she couldn't make them into what _she_ was, she took great pleasure in _destroying_ them.

But instead of saying all that, Coran just clenched his fists and thought to himself the only thing he could think of that would keep him from trying to reach through the screen and tear Haggar to pieces with his bare hands.

 _The plan is already in motion - Keith won't have to go through much more of this before -_

When Keith's head was finally allowed to fall forwards again, the lines of his face were tight with pain, and his eyes were hazy and afraid, and Lance looked towards Allura, because he didn't want to see Keith like this, alone and covered in blood and helpless - and - and frozen into place with fear -

 _Wait…_

Lance's full attention snapped back to the screen.

Something was really, _really_ wrong.

Keith was always moving, even if he was standing in one place. His fingers would twitch restlessly, or he would adjust his stance or move his head so that he could see or hear different things more clearly, but he was never absolutely _still_.

Not like this.

Something was wrong. Something was very, _very_ wrong.

Keith's eyes were darting between the witch and his own team now, and he seemed to be trying to tell them something, something really, _really_ important.

Lance felt his own eyes grow wider with worry. Keith's eyes had always been expressive, especially if you knew him, and Lance knew Keith well enough to tell that right now, his friend was _terrified._

"It's _such_ a shame that he didn't listen to me earlier," Haggar said. She glanced back down at the Red Paladin and when she spoke again, her tone was mocking. "But then, he _only_ seems to learn from experience."

Keith suddenly tried to break away from the Druid who held him place, and his movements were disjointed, frantic. Meanwhile, Haggar smiled back at them all through the screen like she was waiting for the penny to drop, and in that frozen moment, Allura realized what was happening, why Keith was fighting _so_ hard once again to get free.

 _One of Keith's eyes was bloodshot now…_

 _Oh, gods._

 _The mask was on_ ** _far_** _too tight._

Sweat as well as blood started to run down Keith's face, and his attempts to break away from his captors grew more and more desperate with every passing second, his shoulders beginning to quiver from his useless efforts to breathe. Allura tried hard _not_ to think about how scared Keith was, or how Shiro's shoulders were stiff and tight with both fear and fury on his brother's behalf.

Though it was the hardest thing she had ever done, Allura held out a hand to keep the others standing by her from getting any closer to the viewscreen, even as their friend began to thrash and buck, trying without success to do something, _anything_ that would stop this mask from cutting off his air.

" _Wait_ ," Allura said under her breath, and when Hunk tried again to step forwards, to protest, she shot him a steady look as she went on to say, very quietly and evenly, "Reactions are what she _wants_. She'll - she'll keep him - like that - in pain - if we react. We - we must - not react - it's his only chance. _Please_ , Hunk. Trust me."

Keith's efforts to break free from the Druid holding him were weaker and slower than before, though he still shook his head from side to side in short, frantic, useless attempts to loosen the mask.

"Watch closely," the witch said. "This is what happens to those who defy the Galra Empire."

Lance thought that he would have preferred a knife to the chest when Keith looked desperately back up at them in mute terror. Both of the Red Paladin's eyes were bloodshot now, and the mask was stained a deep, dark red. The witch looked between Keith and the others, and she smiled when none of them moved forward or said anything despite the Red Paladin's condition.

"My, my, _my_ ," the witch said, and her tone was poisonously sweet, maliciously mocking as the blood from Keith's injuries began to drip down from the mask onto the floor. "You and your group are more cold-hearted than I thought you were, Princess - and after all your talk of _caring_ for him."

As she spoke, Keith's eyes lost their focus, and it was clear he couldn't see anything anymore. He finally ceased moving altogether, his muscles lacking the oxygen to make any motion possible. At that, Shiro bared his teeth at the witch, and when he spoke, he sounded completely unlike his usual self.

" _Haggar_ ," he said, " _-_ ** _enough_**."

The witch tilted her head again and looked at Shiro.

" _Champion_ ," she said, and she was smiling in genuine delight. "It's been _so_ long since I've seen you like this-"

But Allura couldn't tear her gaze away from Keith. None of them could. He seemed to be fading away, right in front of them, and it every second seemed to stretch into hours.

Then Shiro was talking again, and his voice was cold.

"You've made your point, so -"

At that precise moment, Keith's eyes completely glazed over, and his head fell forwards onto his chest, and Shiro's voice faltered for a second, but he kept his words cold and harsh.

"- let him breathe. _Now_."

Haggar spoke sharply to the Druid holding Keith in place, and the mask was loosened just enough to allow the Red Paladin to breathe. At once, his head shot up again, and he coughed and gasped in air, his shoulders heaving, his eyes tight shut.

Even though the mask still prevented Keith from speaking, Coran ground his teeth at hearing the painful rasps for air as the boy struggled to catch his breath again. It sounded like if he'd been able to, Keith might have started to cry.

Coran didn't think any less of him for it.

Pain and fear did that to a person.

It didn't mean they were weak, even if Haggar thought it did.

* * *

Allura did her best to keep her face as impassive as possible. It was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, but she did her best to look cold and only focused on keeping her voice even and hard.

"What is it you wish to prove, witch?"

 _I have to buy time. I have to buy Red_ ** _time_** _to track down Keith._

Haggar looked back at Allura and raised an eyebrow.

"Princess, you surprise me."

The witch looked between the Alteans and the Paladins of Voltron, and an interested light entered her eyes.

"Oh, I _see_. You want to know if your Paladin's spirit is as strong as you thought it was."

Lance balled his hands into fists at his sides, and he growled, harshly,

"You _know_ th-"

Then there was a hand on his shoulder, a voice in his ear. Low, quiet, but desperate all the same.

" _Lance_."

Coran was warning him not to say anything more. Any attempt to help could only make matters worse.

Keith's head still hung low on his chest, and he didn't seem to hear them clearly. His shoulders were still heaving as he gasped in air, but he wasn't looking up at them.

For an awful instant, Hunk thought that Keith didn't want to look at them because - because -

Then Haggar grabbed hold of Keith's hair and said, mockingly, "Red Paladin, I think they want to know if you've broken yet. _Have_ you?"

As she asked the question, she twisted her grip, forcing Keith's head up so he looked at the screen once more.

He looked like _hell_. Red was smeared all over his face and across one eye, the one Haggar had almost put out. The left side of his body was stained a lighter red, but that was only because the blood from that injury had spread out over a wider area. And the mask - the mask was now _dripping_ red, and Keith's throat and the front of his armor and the floor in front of his knees were spattered with spots of crimson.

As she forced the Red Paladin to look at them, Hunk felt a cold, clear anger flood through him that he had only felt twice before. Normally, he would have felt sick at the sight of this much blood, or at how Keith was _still_ trying hard not to let them see just how much pain he was in.

Now…

Now Hunk only felt _angry_ that the witch was treating Keith this way, that she was using him to taunt the Paladins and the Alteans.

Keith wasn't a thing.

He was a _person_.

He was their _friend_.

* * *

Haggar looked down at the Red Paladin contemptuously, and her next words made Lance wish he could tear Haggar into tiny little pieces, scatter the remains into a lake, and then turn the lake into mist.

"It _is_ truly fitting for him to be called the Red Paladin, is it not? Especially now… but then, I do suppose it is only natural for _red_ to signify _blood_."

Shiro's eyes burned silver in rage, and Keith saw, and he tried to turn his face away again. It was clear he hated being _used_ like this, to taunt and hurt the people he cared for.

But when Keith tried to turn away, the witch's grip on his hair tightened, and when he tried again, the Druid standing behind him brought the knife back up to his neck and cut once, deeply, so that Keith cried out in pain and surprise and fear and tried to jerk to one side, to avoid the knife, but then it was pressed up against his carotid artery, and he froze into place, eyes wide and scared above the mask, staring back at his team, but completely unable to move or make a sound.

The Black Paladin felt his cybernetic arm continue to pulse and glow, and he willed it to _wait_. Just for a few moments longer, just until Keith was out of harm's way.

* * *

Then Haggar went on, her voice even once again.

"Princess, you really should be familiar with the price of defying the Galra Empire. I _would_ suggest you consult your father on the subject…but then…he is long since dust."

Anger flared once again in Keith's eyes, but then the Druid standing behind him pressed the knife a little harder into Keith's neck, and Pidge saw her friend flinch and close his eyes for a brief second. He didn't make any noise this time, but it was a small, broken, frightened gesture all the same, and seeing them do that to her friend - to the person who had been willing to _die_ for her - made. Pidge. Mad.

She had to grip the rail in the hallway outside to prevent herself from rushing in there and demanding that the Druids _give Keith back_ before she sent a missile to their ship and turned them all to ash.

Not yet, she told herself. Not yet.

Just a little more time.

Just a little more.

Haggar smiled, shrugging a single shoulder, and just for an instant, it seemed a terrifyingly familiar gesture. In the same instant the thought flashed through Katie's mind, it was gone, because now the knife's blade was pressed right up against Keith's throat, and the Red Paladin's spine was absolutely rigid out of instinctual fear.

"Last chance, Princess. Surrender, or he dies."

Allura's voice was shaking, but she gave the same answer she had before.

Pidge opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

No.

No, that wasn't right.

They couldn't be out of time.

They had to save him.

They _had_ to - but now Keith was looking back at them all - oh _God_ -

It was the same look he'd given her on the bridge of Haggar's ship - it was the _exact_ same one -

 _He was saying goodbye - he was saying_ ** _goodbye_** _\- no - no - nonononononononononono -_

The Druid readjusted his grip on the knife, and Haggar shrugged.

"Ah well," she said. "Such is the price of war."

* * *

Just then, Shiro stepped forward, radiating anger, fury, and rage, and told Haggar to stop playing games. Lance was really, really glad Shiro was only looking at Haggar, because as kind, as good, and as controlled as Shiro was, when he got angry, he had one scary rage face.

Like, it could burn holes through metal.

Maybe even literally.

But the witch's laugh was a horrible sound, and she only tightened her hold on Keith.

Shiro went on to tell her _exactly_ what he planned to do if she didn't let Keith go, but the witch only laughed again.

Then she changed tactics. She placed her hand on Keith's head in an almost gentle manner, and that small, mocking gesture was _just_ as unnerving to witness as everything that had come before.

In some ways, it was worse.

It was worse because Keith had never really been one to initiate physical contact, even around people he trusted. This seemingly intimate contact from someone who clearly intended him harm was a strike not only against his mind, but also his spirit.

And the people who _actually_ cared about Keith couldn't do a damn thing to stop Haggar from baiting him this way.

Shiro knew the Red Paladin would have recoiled away from the witch if he could have, but with the knife digging into his neck, all Keith could do was flinch, his shoulders tensing as he turned his face to one side, as far away from her as he could.

This was what Haggar did.

She played mind games and tried to break you.

Shiro sincerely hoped he got the chance to use his Paladin's powers within the next few moments.

In the meantime, he had to buy time.

Haggar had never been able to resist an opportunity to gloat.

 _Maybe he could distract her from Keith, give her another target._

 _After all, he had survived her for a year._

And to be honest…if there hadn't been a rescue plan in operation, he _still_ would have made the offer he was about to.

Because there was no way in Hell he was just going to stand by and watch Haggar do this to someone he cared about.

* * *

When Shiro offered to trade himself for Keith, Haggar's eyes glistened with delight. In contrast, Keith's already pale face went corpse white, and he shook his head violently from side to side.

When Haggar asked if Shiro was serious, he nodded. He didn't need to pretend he was telling the truth, because he was.

Then Keith snarled in frantic desperation and twisted free of Haggar's grip just long enough to meet Shiro's gaze, and his meaning was crystal clear.

 _Don't you_ ** _fucking_** _dare, Takashi -_

But then the Druid standing behind Keith flipped the knife in its hand, raising it to strike, and Shiro's mind went blank in terror.

 _No._

 _That wasn't supposed to -_

"No!"

But it was already too late.

The Druid plunged the knife deep into Keith's back, but at first, the Red Paladin didn't seem to realize the full extent of what had happened. If anything, he only seemed dazed.

When Keith saw the knife's hilt sticking out of his shoulder out of the corner of his eye, he only stared at it in confusion. Then he tried to move, and that was when the pain hit him. When he tried to move again, when he attempted to twist _away_ from the knife, it was even worse.

He froze into place, his posture changing, becoming something frozen, small, and scared. He chanced a frightened look back towards Haggar, clearly afraid to know what she had done.

As Haggar spoke, Coran saw Keith's understanding begin to falter and fade away.

Even so, the Red Paladin clearly understood enough to look terrified when she said that she had a _personal_ interest in him. As she leaned down to look into the Red Paladin's eyes once more, Coran and Allura exchanged desperate looks.

Haggar _knew_.

She had set this trap with the intention of snaring _him_ , specifically, and she had _succeeded_.

Stars above, they _had_ to get Keith back, _now_ , or risk losing him forever.

Haggar leaned forwards one more time, reaching out a hand, but Keith recoiled away from her as if her hand was a red-hot poker, snarling wordlessly.

It was clear he didn't want her anywhere near him, not now, not ever, and that he desperately wished he could say as much.

Haggar's eyes went flat, and she said something that no one in the Altean castle could catch. Even as his team watched, Keith made an effort and managed to raise his eyes towards the screen long enough to meet their gaze.

"Well. Time presses," Haggar said, and even though he clearly was losing focus and awareness of what was going on around him, Pidge saw those words hurt Keith almost as badly as the knife had. Tears started to drip down his face, but he made no effort to hide them or keep them from falling.

"… _no_ …" he said, and it didn't seem he knew he was saying it. It was barely more than a whisper, but everyone on both ships' bridges heard it all the same.

Haggar turned towards him, her motions sharp and jagged.

" _What_ did you s-"

But Keith was still staring up at his team, and he didn't seem to hear her. His focus was entirely on them.

When Haggar spoke again, her tone was cold, and dismissive, and harsh.

"A foolish weakness. One that I will be sure to eradicate."

But Keith didn't look back at her, or even seem to hear her. He seemed to be trying to memorize the faces in front of him, before Haggar took him away from them forever.

Haggar snarled in annoyance, crossed the floor once again, gripped his chin, and wrenched his head to one side so they were once more eye to eye. When she spoke a third time, her voice was low and fierce.

" _They_ are _not_ your blood. You ar-"

But the Red Paladin's eyes, still glazed over in pain, had once more slid away from her own, were once again focused on something other than her. It wasn't out of anger or rebelliousness, as it had been before. This time…it was…

Longing.

Haggar stopped mid-word and followed his gaze with her own.

The Red Paladin was still looking back towards his team as best he could, and even though he couldn't say anything more, she could read the meaning in his eyes.

 _He didn't want to be separated from them._

 _They were his_ ** _family._**

* * *

Haggar looked between the Red Paladin - the one whose bloodline was one and the same as her own - and the other members of the team who had defied the might of the Galra Empire.

Haggar had known the Paladins of old. She had called them all 'friend' once, but what she saw now was…something different.

They _cared_ for him, and he for them.

He would likely never be able to bond with his Lion again, but they still wanted him back.

They seemed willing to -

No.

Surely not.

No one would exchange places with a hostage.

That was absurd.

It had been a ruse on Champion's part, surely.

A way to appear strong and 'noble' in front of the other Paladins.

No one would ever come back to being experimented upon, not unless they truly desired power - in which case, why would they ever have left?

It made no sense.

It was - stupid.

They were all just _stupid_ children.

Even Champion.

He was a fool, and he had _clearly_ corrupted her own flesh and blood.

Well, given enough time, she could undo the damage he had done.

She was certain she could.

After all, she was _incredibly_ talented.

* * *

With a sneer, Haggar released Keith's chin for the last time, making sure to leave some claw marks on his chin. His face was already a mess of blood - and that wouldn't change anytime soon.

There was much work to do.

She should begin immediately.

Turning to face the large screen again, where the foolish Paladins and the weak Alteans stood, she gave them her coldest, most sincere smile.

"I should thank you," she said, and upon seeing the confusion on their foolish, stupid faces, she elaborated, gesturing with studied carelessness at the Red Paladin, whose understanding was clearly beginning to fade.

"I have yet to experiment on someone with such - unique traits."

She truly smiled then, and the pleasure in her expression was genuine.

"However, I can _guarantee_ you shall recognize him when your paths cross once more."

At that, the Yellow Paladin bristled and the Blue Paladin looked horrified. The Green Paladin bared her teeth in a snarl, and Champion stepped forwards, his eyes flat and angry and just like she remembered from when he had been hers in the arena. The Royal Advisor looked as if he would like to be sick, and the Princess stepped forwards to stand beside Champion. Haggar noticed (with only passing interest) that the two of them seemed to lead together, instead of one or the other.

Odd.

Still, this show of unified defiance was annoying.

Best to undo it as soon as possible.

Haggar turned once more to look critically at the Red Paladin.

"I think I'll leave his eyes," she said thoughtfully. "But in the service of the Galra Empire, he will have no need for a tongue."

She nodded to the Druid standing behind Red Paladin. As the Druid gripped the boy's head in both claws, the boy cried out and thrashed weakly from side to side, and he was crying now, and sound grated on Haggar's ears.

"- _no_ \- please - _please_ -"

Pathetic.

He was _exactly_ like his father - foolish, weak, and _stupid_.

He was no true kin of hers.

The Druid pressed one claw under the boy's chin. Keith clamped his teeth together, and as the claw pressed into his chin, the Red Paladin screamed in pain, but he kept his jaw clenched tight shut all the same.

" _Stop it_!" Champion shouted, and Haggar spared him a glance.

His face was ashen, and he was shaking again, and the sight revolted her.

He was weak, too.

 _Stupid, weak, pathetic._

Such weakness was an infection.

It was better to cut it off than to let it spread.

She smiled thinly at Champion.

"Then again," she said, and she took great pleasure in seeing the fear behind the fury in his expression, "Perhaps he doesn't need _both_ eyes."

Champion and the others roared in fear and anger at that, but Haggar turned her head to the Druid that held the knife.

"Take his right eye," she said. "Leave the knife in its place."

The Druid nodded, drew its clawed finger away from Keith's chin, and reached instead towards Keith's right eye. Then there was a flash of light and fire all around them, and Haggar watched as the point of a sword appeared out of the Druid's chest.


End file.
